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2009 FAOFAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)At UN Biodiversity conference, new guidelines for agro-environmental policies in Latin America & Caribbean In an effort to combat the impacts of environmental degradation and promote sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change, FAO this week presented a set of Voluntary guidelines for agro-environmental policies meant to support policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean.

6 December 2016, Cancun, Mexico - In an effort to combat the impacts of environmental degradation and promote sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change, FAO this week presented a set of Voluntary guidelines for agro-environmental policies meant to help policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean in their ongoing work to eradicate hunger and poverty in the region.

The guidelines were introduced at an event on the sidelines of COP 13 - the UN conference on Biodiversity taking place in Cancun, Mexico, December 4-17 - for an audience of ministers and representatives of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The guidelines will serve as a template for countries to create their own policies to promote sustainable production and consumption patterns, enabling them to transform their agricultural systems, ensure sustainable development and comply with the Paris Climate Agreement.

According to FAO, the transition to a sustainable future requires action on the intersection of economy, society, agriculture and natural ecosystems.

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean share common environmental challenges, including the need to adapt agriculture to climate change, conserve biodiversity, manage their water resources and soils, and mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions.

Other participants in the event included Mexico's National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the NGO Razonatura.

Protecting the resources that support food security

Thirty-seven percent of the surface area of Latin America and the Caribbean is used for agricultural activities, which presents great challenges for sustainable food production and the care of the environment.

According to FAO, the region is experiencing increasing pressure on the natural resources that underpin food production and food security.

The guidelines presented at the COP13 point out that the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change mainly affect the most vulnerable social sectors.

Family farmers, small scale fishermen, smallholder forest producers, indigenous peoples and traditional communities are among those most directly dependent on natural resources for their subsistence and food security.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, family farmers account for 75 percent of total producers -involving some 60 million people - a number that exceeds 90 percent in some countries. These farmers safeguard the environment and the natural resources on which they depend and their work is key for the sector's current and future development.

The implementation of these guidelines may enhance the potential environmental benefits of agricultural, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture activities, reduce their impacts on ecosystems and improve food availability, as well as food and nutritional security.

The countries of the region, with FAO's support, will promote these voluntary guidelines as a guide to improving policies under an agro-environmental approach that links society, territory, environment and economy in a more integrated and harmonious way.

Policies emerging from these guidelines will be formulated through interaction with different social actors, and seek to promote rural development with a territorial approach, according to principles of conservation and sustainable management of natural resources.

Precious resources under threat

Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for 15 percent of the world's total agricultural land, receives almost 30 percent of precipitation and generates 33 percent of global runoff.

However, the rapid exploitation of minerals, gas, forests and pastures is producing dramatic changes in land use: the region currently accounts for 14 percent of global land degradation, a figure that reaches 26 percent for Mesoamerica.

Although deforestation has declined in recent decades, the region still has the second highest rate in the world, and each year more than two million hectares of forest are lost.

In the last three decades water extraction has doubled in the region at a rate well above the world average, most of which is used in agriculture.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458063/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458063/icode/Tue, 06 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMTWaste of food, natural resources, and human talent taking a toll on Mediterranean agriculture and rural development The agricultural traditions and food culture of the Mediterranean region have long been looked to as an example of a healthy approach to eating, underpinned by vibrant rural economies. But new challenges are now raising questions about their future, according to a new book by FAO and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies.

5 December 2016, Rome - The agricultural traditions and food culture of the Mediterranean region have long been looked to as an example of a healthy approach to eating, underpinned by vibrant rural economies. But demographic and environmental pressures — coupled with a changing climate and social and economic challenges — are now raising questions about the future of the region's much-heralded food systems and the implications for sustainable development.

"The world, including the Mediterranean region, is faced with a number of challenges. Various forms of waste related to food, natural resources and knowledge are embedded in these challenges and pose significant obstacles for the achievement of sustainability," write FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and CIHEAM Secretary General Cosimo Lacirignola in their introduction to this joint-publication.

MediTerra also looks at how human resources and potential in the region — especially among youth — are being wasted, hampering development. This includes unemployment, lack of access to education, "brain drain," and the disappearance of local knowledge and farming traditions.

The task at hand, the book says, is not merely preserving agricultural traditions, but rather re-invigorating them to make them engines of sustainable development and improved nutrition.

The new edition of the joint CIHEAM-FAO MediTerra publication — which casts a far-ranging eye over the agricultural and food systems of the broader Mediterranean region, from southern Europe to North Africa and the Near East — contains 17 chapters by groups of expert authors from both partners, organized into three main sections looking at:

The state of natural resources essential to agriculture globally and in the region, including marine fisheries, water, land, forests, plant and animal genetic diversity, and energy

Diverse aspects of food waste and losses in the world and in the region and how countries and communities are responding to the problem.

How the region's human resources and traditional knowledge are at risk of fading away, and how family farmers are responding.

Multiple challenges

MediTerra highlights a range of challenges which are bringing weight to bear on agriculture and food systems in the Mediterranean. For example:

Limited water supplies. The Mediterranean holds only three percent of global water resources but hosts over 50 percent of the world's water poor populations, around 180 million people.

In many places withdrawals of groundwater have surpassed sustainable thresholds. In agriculture — the region's biggest user — large volumes are lost due to inappropriate techniques or outdated infrastructure. Climate change will impose further stress on finite water sources.

Loss and degradation of land. The book warns of "the whittling away of arable land by advancing urbanization" as well erosion, salinization of soils and desertification, much of it stemming from unsustainable agricultural practices. Some estimates warn that if existing rates of land degradation continue, by 2020 another 8.3 million ha of agriculture land will be lost, versus 1960.

Food waste and losses. Accurate estimates of the magnitude of food losses and waste in the broader Mediterranean region are lacking, but country level data point to a major problem: in Spain, 7.6 million tonnes of food are wasted each year; in Italy, 8.8 million tonnes; in France, 9 million.

Studies of the North Africa and Near East area suggest a similar problem, with 250kg of food being wasted per household each year. The water footprint of these losses — 42 cubic kilometres each year — accounts for 17 percent of all global water losses sourced to food waste.

Fisheries and forests at risk. The sea has been a bedrock of livelihoods and food security in the Mediterranean for millennia. Today, 52 percent fish stocks surveyed are being exploited at unsustainable levels. In a similar vein, the surface area of the region's forests has dramatically declined, despite the important role that they play in local ecosystems.

A "brain drain" in agriculture. While much farming in the region is family-run, and remains competitive in the face of larger, consolidated agro-industries, some regions have seen communities and traditions fade away. In North Africa's Maghreb zone, for example, the average age of farmers is 50+ — at the same time, the region faces one of the world's highest youth unemployment rates.

Shared threats, shared solutions

Many of the challenges facing food systems, natural resources and knowledge are common to all Mediterranean countries, the book notes, highlighting the importance of a shared agenda of research and action, integrated policies and innovations — both technical and organizational — to address "triple waste" in a coordinated way.

Here CIHEAM and FAO can play a key role: they offer a unique and fertile arena for the exchanges of experiences, expertise and analysis aimed at proposing responses to the many challenges faced by the Mediterranean region.

Doing so, the book argues, "is strategic for the future of Mediterranean countries and their sustainable development."

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456243/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456243/icode/Mon, 05 Dec 2016 11:00:00 GMTWorld Soil Day hails symbiotic role of pulses to boost sustainable agriculture Soils and pulses are crucial tools to feed the growing population and combat climate change, especially when deployed together, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization released on World Soil Day.

5 December 2016, ROME-Soil and pulses can make major contributions to the challenge of feeding the world's growing population and combating climate change, especially when deployed together, according to Soils and Pulses: Symbiosis for Life, a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization released on World Soil Day.

"Soils and pulses embody a unique symbiosis that protects the environment, enhances productivity, contributes to adapting to climate change and provides fundamental nutrients to the soil and subsequent crops," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

Pulses are environmentally resilient crops that deliver high-nutrition foods to people and critical nutrients to biological ecosystems. Soil, a non-renewable resource, is essential for plant life and 95 percent of the global food supply.

Pulses such as lentils, dry beans and chickpeas are nitrogen-fixing plants that can benefit soil health, leading to better growing conditions for themselves and for other plants. On average, cereals grown after pulses yield 1.5 tonnes more per hectare than those not preceded by pulses, which is equal to the effect of 100 kilograms of nitrogen fertilizer.

The new book illustrates a variety of ways that pulses and soils can be "strategic allies" in forging more sustainable food and agriculture systems.

Earlier today, FAO's Council - representing the Organization's member states - endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, a set of technical and policy recommendations on protecting the world's largest terrestrial pool of carbon. These guidelines - to be implemented at all levels - constitute the main tool to foster sustainable soil management and boost soil health.

In the efforts to advocate for and raise awareness about sustainable soil management, today the first ever Glinka World Soil Prize was awarded to the Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi from Colombia. The institute has a long tradition in promoting sustainable soil management in Colombia and for developing capacities of Latin American scientists. It currently has a critical role in post-conflict Colombia as it guides allocation of soils in the land restitution programme.

Pulses on the farm

One-third of the world's soils are now deemed degraded, due to a range of causes including acidification, salinization, erosion and urbanization, a matter of growing concern due to the intricate range of life-supporting ecosystem services they provide.

Introducing pulses as part of intercropping, cover crops and crop rotation farming techniques can help restore soil health. Legumes, the plant family of which pulses are a part, can grow with fewer nutrients than many others, while providing nitrogen, soluble phosphates and other needed compounds to soils.

"Pulses are architects of soil health," according to the report. They host special soil bacteria enabling the biological fixation of nitrogen, a natural process that would cost an additional $10 billion a year in synthetic fertilizers. They also foster soil carbon sequestration and cleaner water filtration.

The world is currently losing soil 10 to 20 times faster than it is replenishing it, a trend pulses can help offset. The report cites a case study in India showing how growing pigeon peas reduced soil runoff and erosion by up to 59 percent.

In the vast western wheat fields of Canada, the world's No. 2 pulse producer and leading exporter, the introduction of pulses into field rotation has trimmed the need for synthetic nitrogen by two-thirds, underscoring the substantial role pulses can play in lowering global greenhouse gas emissions.

Pulses on the plate

Pulses are a critical ally in addressing hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition and rural incomes, all cardinal goals in the Sustainable Development Agenda.

They have higher protein content - often three times as much as rice or cassava - than staple grains. Pulses also are a significant source of health-enhancing minerals, including iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous and zinc. Other dietary health attributes of pulses include high B-vitamin content, low fat content, no cholesterol and a low glycemic index. While low in calories, they are high in complex carbohydrates and dietary fibers.

Strategic and tailored use of optimal pulse-soil synergies will require more comprehensive data on soils. Through the Global Soil Partnership, FAO is leading international efforts aimed at enhancing the quantity and quality of soil data by establishing the Global Soil Information System, which is also essential to guide monitoring of sustainable soil management.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455693/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455693/icode/Mon, 05 Dec 2016 10:00:00 GMTMainstreaming biodiversity to guarantee food security and nutrition “Biodiversity is essential for food security and nutrition,” FAO Deputy Director Genera Maria Helena Semedo said at the opening High-Level Segment of the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

2 December 2016, CANCUN, Mexico -Maintaining biological diversity is important for producing food and to conserve the very foundation of life and rural livelihoods, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo told participants in an international summit aimed at protecting biodiversity.

"Biodiversity is essential for food security and nutrition," Semedo said at the opening High-Level Segment of the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

"It is needed to sustainably produce nutritious and abundant food and to adapt agriculture, forestry and fisheries to global challenges, such as climate change and growing populations," she said. "Reducing the ecological footprint of agricultural sectors through sustainable practices will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity."

She added "maintaining biological diversity in agricultural sectors is important for producing nutritious food, improving rural livelihoods and enhancing the resilience of people and communities."

"If we want to transform the world, end poverty, reach zero hunger and ensure the lasting protection of biodiversity that humanity and its food systems depend on, then we have to respond through an all-inclusive effort that cuts across sectors and ministries," she added.

Semedo cited agroecology as "an example of the transformation we need".

"Agroecology, combining scientific research and local and traditional knowledge, allows the development of sustainable practices and improved knowledge about agricultural ecosystems," she added.

The Deputy Director General of FAO expressed "the need to build bridges between the sectors, identify synergies, align goals and develop integrated cross-sectoral approaches to mainstreaming biodiversity into agricultural sectors" and proposed "through the creation of a platform for mainstreaming biodiversity, to support its members to commit to concrete and measurable transformative steps towards sustainable crop and livestock agriculture, and fisheries and forestry practices."

Some 10,000 participants are gathered for a two-week meeting in Cancun to discuss ongoing implementation of the CBD, which since coming into force in 1993 has adopted 367 decisions.

The COP13 will focus on mainstreaming biodiversity across relevant sectors, especially agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and tourism, to contribute to the sustainable development goals, climate action, food security and other human development goals. Among the themes to be discussed are how biodiversity can be linked to climate and business initiatives, supply chains, sustainable production and consumption, and how effective partnerships and financing arrangements can be organized.

Agriculture's double role

Agriculture is by nature a major user of biodiversity, but it also has the potential to contribute to its protection as well.

While acknowledging that there are "interactions, competition and sometimes even conflicts" between biodiversity and agriculture, Semedo also pointed to growing scientific awareness of how farming techniques can contribute to vital ecosystem functions such as maintaining water quality, controlling erosion and fostering pollination, all of which are building blocks for biodiversity.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456229/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456229/icode/Fri, 02 Dec 2016 16:00:00 GMTAgroforestry offers climate and sustainability benefits Agroforestry has a key role to play in helping the world adopt sustainable agriculture and contrast climate change, according to a high-level conference hosted by FAO today.

28 November 2016, ROME-Agroforestry has a key role to play in helping the world adopt sustainable agriculture and contrast climate change, according to a high-level conference hosted by FAO today.

"An efficient land-use approach where trees can be managed together with crops and animal production systems" is an essential component of the "new paradigm shift for sustainable agriculture," Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in a conference-opening statement delivered by Deputy Director-General Helena Semedo.

Agroforestry's mixed land-use approach makes it a tailor-made example of how the agricultural sector can contribute to the global effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

"In agriculture, adaptation and mitigation are two sides of the same coin," Semedo added. "We need to better explore the co-benefits of adaptation, mitigation and development."

Sustainability is a perpetual challenge and "agroforestry is of the best tools we have," said Francesco Rutelli, a former mayor of Rome who is now chairman of Centro per un Futuro Sostenibile, an Italian non-governmental organization that promotes greater awareness of the science behind climate change and the economic policy importance of environmental concerns.

"We must certainly allow trees to save us," he said, noting that the robust forests are a powerful lever to mitigate climate change.

Agriculture and climate change

Today's high-level event - organized by FAO along with Italy's Permanent Representation to the Rome-based UN agencies and the Centro per un Futuro Sostenibile- includes presentations and panels by a variety of experts in subjects ranging from zero-emissions farming models to the so-called landscape approach to assessing and modifying carbon cycles.

It is one of a series that, in the wake of the COP22 summit earlier this month in Morocco, FAO plans to host to pursue better understanding of what the agricultural sector can do not only to adapt to but also mitigate climate change.

While most countries recognized agriculture's role as a major GHG emitter, in 2014 only two percent of global climate finance was directed to agriculture, including forests, fisheries and livestock sub-sectors, Semedo said, noting the figure was "disproportionately low."

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455453/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455453/icode/Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:00:00 GMTKeeping the focus on grain pulses Consumer awareness of the nutritional and dietary benefits of pulses remains inadequate and more must be done to promote their role in food systems, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said today.

22 November 2016, ROME-Consumer awareness of the nutritional and dietary benefits of pulses, the edible seeds of leguminous plants and notably including lentils, chickpeas, cowpeas and many dry beans, remains inadequate and more must be done to promote their role in food systems, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said today.

Progress has been made thanks to initiatives during 2016, the International Year of Pulses, but "it essential to keep the momentum alive," Semedo told participants in a Global Dialogue held at FAO headquarters.

Known for their relatively high protein content and their particular ability to take nitrogen and fix it in soils, pulses also a fertile building block for other crops as well.

"Pulses should not only be valued for their qualities, but also get the policy attention they deserve," she said.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses, and leading sponsorship roles were taken by Pakistan and Turkey. Lentil dahls are a hugely important staple across South Asia, while chickpeas have been found in Neolithic pottery excavated in southeast Anatolia.

"There is much still to do in research on pulses" to make them resilient to environmental stresses and help reduce rural poverty, said Nadeem Rivaz, the Permanent Representative to FAO for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and co-chair of the IYP's steering committee.

Promotion of pulses can help foster inclusive economic growth, and greater attention to pulses is already opening export opportunities for countries such as Ethiopia and Myanmar, said Murat Salim Esenli, Permanent Representative-Designate of the Republic of Turkey to FAO and the other IYP co-chair.

The two-day Global Dialogue event allows for key stakeholders and experts from around the world to review the year's activities, which include the publication of academic papers, advocacy activities and initiative to establish lasting recommendations.

More on Pulses

Promoting the production and consumption of pulses can contribute to key Sustainable Development Goals - especially those regarding nutrition, poverty, soil health and climate change - in what Semedo called a "virtuous socioeconomic cycle" that guarantees food and nutrition security for the whole community.

In Malawi, many farmers have been encouraged to intercrop maize and grain legumes, leading to increased food security and income. In Zambia, local women farmers are now producing nearly half of the pulses found in school meals.

Many pulse types are highly water efficient and suited for dry farming conditions. Growing pulses as a cover crop is a climate-smart technique that improves both farm productivity and resilience, Semedo said. It also improves soil health, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and thus leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, she added.

Dry beans account for around a third of global pulses production, with dry peas and chickpeas each contributing a further one-sixth of worldwide output. Other important pulses are broad beans, lentils, cowpeas and pigeon pea.

"Pulses offer a lot of opportunities to food diversification, and I call upon the chefs worldwide to explore the rich world of pulses and use their creativity to invent new recipes", said Maggy Habib, FAO's IYP Special Ambassador for the Near East. Around 62 million tonnes of pulses are grown each year, with India by far the largest producer although also a net importer. The value of internationally-traded pulses is around $7 billion, with China, Brazil, Canada, Myanmar and Australia all major contributors.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454169/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454169/icode/Tue, 22 Nov 2016 13:00:00 GMTUN food agencies call for urgent action to address southern Madagascar’s worsening food insecurity Farmers in southern Madagascar, hit by three years of devastating drought, urgently need more support so they can plant crops in time for the December and January planting seasons, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said today.

FAO/WFP Joint News Release

Rome/Antananarivo, 18 November

- Farmers in southern Madagascar, hit by three years of devastating drought, urgently need more support so they can plant crops in time for the December and January planting seasons, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said today.

They stressed that more funding is required to provide this support and help address southern Madagascar's worsening food insecurity.

FAO will start distributing plant cuttings and seeds next month, targeting some 170,000 farming families in the most food-insecure districts of the south. At the same time, these same families will receive food or cash as part of an ongoing WFP relief programme so they can sustain themselves until the next harvest in March/April. WFP has been distributing food to people in the areas of greatest need since June and cash in places with functioning markets since July.

"The planting season offers a small window of opportunity for local farmers to restore agricultural production. Thousands of families are already facing hunger. Missing the planting season now will result in a serious food and livelihood crisis, and render their situation even more desperate," says José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General.

Some 850,000 people - about half the population of the south - are facing hunger and need urgent humanitarian assistance, according to latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) findings. These indicate that food and nutrition security could deteriorate even further in coming months unless humanitarian action is rapidly scaled up. Overall, some 1.4 million people are estimated to be food insecure in 2016/17 in the three southern regions of the island.

FAO is sourcing sweet potato and cassava cuttings as well as a variety of drought-tolerant seeds for smallholder farmers to plant. Tools will also be distributed and support offered to families with livestock.

"As I saw recently in the south of Madagascar, farmers are in a dire situation," says WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. "But, through a joint response, our two agencies can begin to turn this situation around, not only by providing immediate relief but by giving communities the means they need to feed themselves."

While WFP and FAO have secured funds to help launch their joint planting assistance programme, they cannot reach all the drought-hit farming families without more funding. Out of $22 million needed, FAO has only received $4.5 million. WFP's drought relief operation, which runs till March 2017, is facing a $50 million shortfall out of a total of $82 million required.

The lack of sufficient rains brought about significant declines in the production of maize, cassava and rice production in the south of the island earlier this year. Meanwhile, rising prices continue to reduce people's purchasing power and erode the food security of the most vulnerable. Many households have adopted survival strategies, eating less often, consuming seeds, and selling animals, agricultural tools and even land.

Farmers will also receive tools to replace those that may have been sold during the current extended hunger season. Support to livestock production will also be provided through supplementary feeding of livestock and animal health-related activities.

WFP responseWFP is scaling up its ongoing food and cash relief operations to reach nearly 1 million vulnerable people by the end of this month. At the same time, WFP is expanding its nutrition programme to prevent and treat malnutrition among more than 200,000 pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under five, while continuing to assist some 230,000 school children with daily hot meals.

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About FAO FAO leads international efforts to defeat hunger. It helps countries to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. FAO focuses special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. For more information visit: www.fao.org or follow FAO on Twitter @FAOnews.

About WFPWFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media, @wfp_mena

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453663/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453663/icode/Thu, 17 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTAfrica-funded project helps small-island nations adapt to perils of climate change Recognizing the disproportionate burden that climate change places on small island developing states (SIDS), FAO will support six African island nations in their efforts to make their agriculture more resilient to climate shocks and boost economic development, the agency said today.

17 November 2016, Rome -- Recognizing the disproportionate burden that climate change places on small island developing states (SIDS), FAO will support six African island nations in their efforts to make their agriculture more resilient to climate shocks and boost economic development, the agency said today.

The $1.5 million project -- funded through the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund - will focus on a variety of activities to mitigate and adapt production to changing climate conditions, and make farming practices overall more efficient.

Farmers in Cabo Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, and Seychelles will benefit from training and knowledge exchanges on climate-smart food production, as well as ways to create viable market opportunities for nutritious food.

Among these climate-smart agriculture practices are the use of a range of easy-to-grow crops of high nutritional value that will make production more resilient to adverse conditions. Other initiatives focus on innovative ways to increase food production. These include the introduction of fish aggregation devices - also known as fish magnets - to attract more fish to catch areas and increase the availability of nutritious seafood in local markets.

On the marketing side, the project includes activities to help smallholders identify opportunities to enter high-value niche markets through Fair Trade or Organic labelling, to ensure the project is sustainable. To promote regional agricultural trade initiatives, the project will focus on strengthening regulations and agreements between importers and exporters. The project will also work with local government to identify policy opportunities, including ways to stimulate healthy nutrition trough food-based dietary guidelines and nutrition education programming.

In all, the project aims to increase the countries' capacities, from the farm-level to the policy level, to reduce the double burden of malnutrition: tackling persistent hunger, on one hand, and rising obesity, on the other.

Global climate action

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of COP22 in Marrakesh, the UN's global climate conference set to adopt action items that will bring to life last year's much-anticipated Paris Climate agreement. Among them are actions to counter the devastating impacts of climate change on agriculture and water.

Ending hunger and poverty

It's widely accepted that these impacts also pose a major threat to international efforts to end hunger and poverty.

SIDS countries overall struggle with high levels of unemployment and poverty, and rely heavily of imports for their food.

Because people's livelihoods in these island nations depend heavily on fisheries, tourism and crop production, climate change has the potential to aggravate these vulnerabilities and derail the development progress made over recent years.

For this reason, FAO's continued support small-island nations in Africa focuses on interventions that address social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities, while boosting local production of nutritious food.

Africa Solidarity Trust Fund

The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund was launched in 2013 as a unique Africa-led initiative to improve agriculture and food security across the continent. It's doing so by assisting countries and regional organizations to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, eliminate rural poverty and sustainably manage natural resources. The fund draws on contributions from Equatorial Guinea ($30 million), Angola ($10 million) and a symbolic contribution by civil society organizations in the Republic of the Congo.

Since its inception, the Fund has already provided financing for 16 projects in 38 countries including building resilience for conflict affected rural communities, reducing rural poverty through youth employment opportunities and building best practices to increase crop and livestock production.

Speaking at the high-level action day on agriculture and food security, Graziano da Silva noted that climate change impacts on agriculture - including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries, land and water - are already undermining global efforts to assure food security and nutrition.

And the rural poor are the most affected.

With over 90 percent of countries referring to the important role of agriculture in their national plans to adapt to and mitigate climate change, Graziano da Silva stressed that

"it is time to invest in sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture as a fundamental part of the climate solution."

Last year's conference in Paris led to the world's first legally binding global climate deal. The current summit in Marrakech, Morocco is geared to implementation of the pledges all signatory countries made. Echoing the prevalent spirit at the COP, the Paris Agreement is irreversible and inaction would be a disaster for the world.

Transforming agriculture - maximizing benefits

Although agriculture contributes to nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, it is a fundamental part of the solution to boost resilience and combat climate change impacts - especially in developing countries where agriculture is often the backbone of the economy.

Sustainable agriculture also improves the management of natural resources such as water; conserves biodiversity and ecosystem services; and increases carbon sequestration while easing the pressures that drive deforestation.

"We have to transform agriculture to make it more productive and more resilient at the same time. This transformation will help to address, at the same time, the triple threat of hunger, poverty and climate change," FAO's Director-General said. "Countries are recognizing this potential with unprecedented commitments."

Scaling up international flows of climate finance and unlocking additional investment in adaptation in agricultural sectors is needed to give traction to the action, he added.

A concerted push to put agriculture at the center of climate action

Featuring agriculture-focused initiatives, today's special event co-organized by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Morocco, is part of the Global Climate Action Agenda, led by the COP22 Climate Champions, Laurence Tubiana (France) and Hakima El Haité (Morocco), and aimed at joining and accelerating efforts by the public and private sectors to meet international climate goals.

In a bid to tackle the impact of global water scarcity, today FAO launched the Global Framework for Action to Cope with Water Scarcity in Agriculture in the Context of Climate Change.

Water scarcity - already a major global issue - will intensify with climate change and pressures linked to population growth. From California to China's eastern provinces and from Jordan to the southern tip of Africa, an estimated four billion people - almost two-thirds of the global population - live with severe water shortages for at least some of the time.

Water scarcity "is one of the main challenges for sustainable agriculture," Graziano da Silva said. "I invite countries and partners to join this initiative."

The so-called Triple A "will drive action in precisely the areas we need to transform the agriculture sectors" - sustainable land and soil management, better water management and comprehensive climate risk management - and FAO will collaborate strongly to scale up the initiative.

That will require larger climate finance flows for adaptation, and for agriculture in particure, he said, noting that currently only two percent of climate finance is being directed at the agriculture sector. "That is extremely low, and quite below our needs," he said.

Cost of inaction far outweighs action

The world has signed up to the ambitious aims of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Agreement to fight hunger, poverty and climate change.

"For millions of people, our actions can make a difference between poverty and prosperity, and between hunger and food security," FAO's Director-General said.]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453416/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453416/icode/Wed, 16 Nov 2016 14:00:00 GMT10 million hectares a year in need of restoration along the Great Green Wall A groundbreaking map of restoration opportunities along Africa's Great Green Wall has been launched at the UN climate change conference, based on collection and analysis of crucial land-use information to boost action in Africa's drylands to increase the resilience of people and landscapes to climate change.

Marrakech, 16 November 2016 - A groundbreaking map of restoration opportunities along Africa's Great Green Wall has been launched at the UN climate change conference, based on collection and analysis of crucial land-use information to boost action in Africa's drylands to increase the resilience of people and landscapes to climate change."The Great Green Wall initiative is Africa's flagship programme to combat the effects of climate change and desertification," said Eduardo Mansur, Director of FAO's Land and Water Division, while presenting the new map at the COP22 in Marrakech. "Early results of the initiative's actions show that degraded lands can be restored, but these achievements pale in comparison with what is needed," he added during a high-level event at the African Union Pavilion entitled: "Resilient Landscapes in Africa's Drylands: Seizing Opportunities and Deepening Commitments".Mansur hailed the new assessment tool used to produce the map as a vital instrument providing critical information to understand the true dimension of restoration needs in the vast expanses of drylands across North Africa, Sahel and the Horn.Drawing on data collected on trees, forests and land use in the context of the Global Drylands Assessment conducted by FAO and partners in 2015-2016, it is estimated that 166 million hectares of the Great Green Wall area offer opportunities for restoration projects.The Great Green Wall's core area crosses arid and semi-arid zones on the North and south sides of the Sahara. Its core area covers 780 million hectares and it is home to 232 million people. To halt and reverse land degradation, around 10 million hectares will need to be restored each year, according to the assessment. This will be major a contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The data were obtained by analysing 63 000 half-hectare sample plots spread across the drylands of North Africa, Sahel and the Horn with FAO's Open Foris Collect Earth tool and very-high-resolution satellite images provided by Google Earth Engine and Bing Maps. The data collection is a collaborative effort of the African Union, the CILSS/AGRHYMET Regional Centre, the Directorate General of Forests (Tunisia), Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), FAO, Google and the World Resources Institute. A great green mosaic

Experts say a variety of restoration approaches will be required to bring the Great Green Wall initiative to an effective scale and create a great mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa, Sahel and the Horn. These include natural regeneration allowing farmers to protect and manage the natural regeneration of forests, croplands and grasslands. Where degradation is more severe, large-scale land preparation and enrichment planting is needed, mobilizing high-quality seeds and planting materials and involving communities in the selection of the native species to be used. Even closer to the desert, sand encroachment can be fought by establishing and protectingthe most adapted native woody and grassy vegetation and implementing sustainable management of oases systems. Developing comprehensive value chains that benefit local communities and countries has the potential of transforming the lives of millions of people in Africa's drylands, making the Great Green Wall initiative a game-changer for the continent. The drylands map was made possible with the support of Action Against Desertification, an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) in support of the Great Green Wall programme , national UNCCD action plans and south-south cooperation to promote sustainable land management and restore drylands and degraded lands in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union in the framework of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). ]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/452701/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/452701/icode/Tue, 15 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTThe South Centre and FAO step up cooperation to intensify South-South activities FAO is joining forces with the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, to help the countries of the Global South eliminate hunger and malnutrition, reduce poverty, address climate change and achieve sustainable rural development under the umbrella of South-South cooperation.

11 November 2016, Marrakesh - FAO is joining forces with the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, to help the countries of the Global South eliminate hunger and malnutrition, reduce poverty, address climate change and achieve sustainable rural development under the umbrella of South-South cooperation.

A five-year Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources, and Vicente Paulo Yu, Deputy Executive Director of the South Centre on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) in Marrakech (7-18 November 2016).

Building on years of successful collaboration, and given the growing importance of South-South Cooperation, the South Centre and FAO have agreed to broaden the scope of their joint activities, including capacity building for developing countries to strengthen their ability to implement sustainable development policies, facilitate exchange of information and knowledge, and promote technology transfer and innovation.

Both FAO and the South Centre share a common interest in supporting the developing world in its efforts to overcome major development challenges arising from chronic food insecurity, climate change and acute poverty. Worldwide there are around 800 million food insecure people, while 2.1 billion people are poor, including 900 million who live in extreme poverty. Enhancing the cooperation between the two organizations is an important step towards Zero Hunger and more sustainable rural development.

FAO and the South Centre will also promote sustainable management of natural resources including land, water, air and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations, help developing nations build resilient rural livelihoods, and apply more sustainable agricultural practices including organic and agro-ecology farming.

The South Centre is an intergovernmental organization of developing countries established in 1995. It currently has 53 member countries and its main objective is to promote South-South cooperation and the sustainable development through policy research, analysis, advice and capacity building in developing countries.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451757/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451757/icode/Thu, 10 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMT“Coherent coordination” is key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals The “truly universal, comprehensive and inspirational” nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts a premium on “system wide coherence and coordination” across all United Nations agencies, the head of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said today at a meeting in Rome.

"More than ever, the UN system will be required to leverage on the distinct expertise and comparative advantages of its parts in order to ensure cohesion and avoid duplication in implementing this cross cutting Agenda," said Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, who is Zimbabwe's Ambassador to the United Nations as well as head of ECOSOC, a governance organ in change of coordinating work done by specialist agencies.

He spoke at an informal seminar attended by permanent representatives to FAO as well as officials from the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

FAO's work in areas such as food security and nutrition, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry go well beyond the cardinal objective of eradicating hunger and are critical "for the achievement of the entire Agenda," Shava said.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, opening the meeting, agreed that the "overlapping and closely interconnected" nature of the Sustainable Development Goals will require closer and more coherent collaboration among all partners, including within the UN system.

FAO has also agreed to support a preparatory meeting on agroindustry in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, early next year.

Fostering inclusive value chains for smallholder farmers in developing countries, and more decent employment in rural areas, is a cornerstone of FAO's approach on the ground. It also converges with Shava's choice to make sustainable industrialization the thematic focus of his ECOSOC presidency.

Monitoring progress on the SDGs

FAO has already overhauled some of its internal processes and intends to further bolster and streamline its contributions to the 2030 Agenda through the creation of a new senior post in charge of coordinating SDG implementation activities.

While ECOSOC is tasked with making sure that efforts to fulfill the SDGs are on track, FAO is the custodian for 21 of the indicators to be used to measure progress.

Graziano da Silva said FAO intends to create a new Office of the Chief Statistician to be in charge of that project and work under the new Deputy Director-General for Programmes. In recognition of the cross-cutting challenges the SDGs present, FAO has organized staff efforts around five goal-oriented strategic programme leadership teams to complement its traditional disciplinary divisions.

"FAO is strongly aware of the importance of deepening our collaboration with other organisms of the UN system, especially between the three Rome-based agencies," Graziano da Silva said, noting that FAO, WFP and IFAD have produced a joint paper to guide their actions in this regard and will jointly present it to countries before the end of the year.

At the same time, FAO supports the role specialized agencies can play in the UN system, considering specific mandates and expertise to represent forms of comparative advantage.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/450138/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/450138/icode/Wed, 02 Nov 2016 15:00:00 GMTCrop losses in southern Madagascar mean severe hunger likely to persist into 2017 The lack of sufficient rains in the southern region of Androy alone resulted in an 80 percent decline in maize production this year compared with the already reduced levels of 2015.

27 October 2016, Rome - The impact of severe El Niño-induced drought on crop production in southern Madagascar, where nearly 850 000 people are acutely food insecure, is likely to persist into 2017 and requires an intensified humanitarian response.

The lack of sufficient rains in the southern region of Androy alone resulted in an 80 percent decline in maize production this year compared with the already reduced levels of 2015.

Prolonged drought also seriously affected the production of another staple food, cassava, in both Androy and another southern region, Atsimo-Andrefana, where cassava production dropped by approximately half. People living in these areas have been hit by successive droughts over the last few years and their hunger situation is expected to remain severely stressed into 2017.

Meanwhile, parched conditions in the regions of Atsimo-Andrefana, Boeny, Melaky, Betsiboka and Ihorombe had a significant negative impact on rice production; with production declines of between 25 and 60 percent reported in these regions, according to a new FAO/World Food Programme (WFP) report released today based on data collected in July/August 2016.

1.4 million people food insecure

Recently updated figures show how the impact on agricultural production has undermined human food security. Some 1.4 million people are estimated to be food insecure in 2016/17 in Madagascar's three southern regions of Androy, Anosy and Atsimo-Andrefana. Of these, around nearly 850 000 are acutely food insecure -- meaning they are not able to meet their food needs and require urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for Madagascar.

Rising prices continue to weigh on the purchasing power of people in general and aggravate the food security of the most vulnerable. As a result, households are reducing consumption of locally produced crops and adopting survival strategies such as consuming seeds, selling their animals and agricultural tools and increasing their consumption of nutritionally inadequate wild foods, such as red cactus fruits. Overall, these conditions reflect a spike in the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity compared with the previous year.

Impact of drought on national crop production

The drought in Madagascar's southern regions has reduced the country's overall domestic production of maize and cassava. National maize production for 2016 is estimated at 316 000 tonnes, down 4 percent compared with the harvest in 2015 and 19 percent below the average. Cassava production, estimated at 2.6 million tonnes, decreased by 16 percent versus the recent five-year average.

National rice (paddy) production benefited from good rains in the centre, northern and western parts of the country - the main rice producing areas - and is estimated at about 3.8 million tonnes in 2016, some 2.5 percent above the previous year, but still some 5 percent below the five-year average.

FAO's response

WFP and FAO are working together to target severely food insecure households with food and livelihood support, but are also ensuring that the most vulnerable households such as those headed by women and the elderly, or landless people, will not be disadvantaged. It is essential that livelihood support begins immediately in order to take full advantage of the forthcoming planting season in November.

Farmers will also receive tools to replace those that may have been sold during the current extended hunger season. Support to livestock production will also be provided through supplementary feeding of livestock and animal health related activities.

To date out of the $22 million needed for FAO's relief interventions, only $3.8 million have been secured.

This funding is urgently needed to ensure farmers do not miss the coming planting season. Local agriculture must be restored to avoid long-term dependence on food assistance.

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449030/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449030/icode/Wed, 26 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTAgriculture has big role to play in curbing greenhouse gas emissions Agriculture generates around a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The sector must both contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts, according to The State of Food and Agriculture 2016.

17 October 2016, Rome - The pledge to eradicate hunger and poverty must go hand in hand with rapid transformations of farming and food systems to cope with a warmer world, FAO said today in a new report.

Agriculture, including forestry, fisheries and livestock production, generate around a fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture must both contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts, according to The State of Food and Agriculture 2016.

"There is no doubt climate change affects food security," FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said while presenting the report. "What climate change does is to bring back uncertainties from the time we were all hunter gatherers. We cannot assure any more that we will have the harvest we have planted."

That uncertainty also translates into volatile food prices, he noted. "Everybody is paying for that, not only those suffering from droughts," Graziano da Silva said.

FAO warns that a "business as usual" approach could put millions more people at risk of hunger compared to a future without climate change. Most affected would be populations in poor areas in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia, especially those who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Future food security in many countries will worsen if no action is taken today.

Overhauling farming and food systems will be complex due to the vast number of stakeholders involved, the multiplicity of farming and food processing systems, and differences in ecosystems. Yet, efforts must begin in earnest now as the adverse impacts of climate change will only worsen with time, the report emphasizes.

"The benefits of adaptation outweigh the costs of inaction by very wide margins," emphasized Graziano da Silva. Time for commitments to be put into action

The FAO report underscores that success in transforming food and agriculture systems will largely depend on urgently supporting smallholders in adapting to climate change.

Developing countries are home to around half a billion smallholder farm families who produce food and other agricultural products in greatly varying agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions. Solutions have to be tailored to those conditions; there is no one-size-fits-all fix.

The FAO report describes alternative, economically viable ways of helping smallholders to adapt and making the livelihoods of rural populations — often the most exposed to the downside risks of climate change - more resilient.

The report provides evidence that adoption of ‘climate-smart' practices, such as the use of nitrogen-efficient and heat-tolerant crop varieties, zero-tillage and integrated soil fertility management would boost productivity and farmers' incomes. Widespread adoption of nitrogen-efficient practices alone would reduce the number of people at risk of undernourishment by more than 100 million, the report estimates.

It also identifies avenues to lower emission intensity from agriculture. Water-conserving alternatives to the flooding of rice paddies for example, can slash methane emissions by 45 percent, while emissions from the livestock sector can be reduced by up to 41 percent through the adoption of more efficient practices.

FAO's road map also identifies policies and financing opportunities for the sustainable intensification of agriculture.

The way forward

Negative global effects of climate change are already being felt in some cereal crop yields,. Climate change will likely lead to a loss of nutritional content of some foods, such as declining zinc, iron and protein counts in staple cereals, and trigger new health issues — including diarrhoea for humans and an array of transboundary animal diseases.

Beyond 2030, according to scientific evidence, negative pressures on food production will be increasingly felt everywhere. Until then, adverse impacts of higher temperatures are sharply skewed towards developing countries, pointing to dimmer prospects for their food self-sufficiency.

Helping smallholders adapt to climate change risks is critical for global poverty reduction and food security. Close attention should be paid to removing obstacles they may face and fostering an enabling environment for individual, joint and collective action, according to the report.

FAO urges policy makers to identify and remove such barriers. These obstacles can include input subsidies that promote unsustainable farming practices, poorly aligned incentives and inadequate access to markets, credit, extension services and social protection programmes, and often disadvantage women, who make up to 43 percent of the agricultural labour force.

The report stresses that more climate finance is needed to fund developing countries' actions on climate change. International public finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation is growing and, while still relatively small, can act as a catalyst to leverage larger flows of public and private investments. More climate finance needs to flow to sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry to fund the large-scale transformation and the development of climate-smart food production systems. Adaptation and mitigation of climate change must occur in tandem.

Without action, agriculture will continue to be a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. But by adopting climate-smart practices and increasing the capacity of soils and forests to sequester carbon, emissions can be reduced while stepping up food production to feed the world's growing population, the report said. Food systems can further contribute by minimizing food losses and waste, as well as by promoting healthier diets that also leave a lighter environmental footprint.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446335/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446335/icode/Mon, 17 Oct 2016 10:00:00 GMTRome-based UN agencies urge transformation of food systems for better nutrition The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) opened its plenary today, poised in the wake of international agreements on new global Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to forge ahead with coordinated action to transform the world’s food systems and nutrition.

17 October 2016, Rome-The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) opened its plenary today, poised in the wake of international agreements on new global Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to forge ahead with coordinated action to transform the world's food systems and nutrition.

"More than half of the world population suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition," including hunger, micronutrient deficiency and obesity, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told delegates attending the annual meeting of the leading forum for global policymaking on food security and nutrition . "there is a clear failure of food systems to deliver healthy diets to people. And if food systems are the problem, CFS is where we should look for solutions," he said.

The key goals of eradicating extreme poverty, hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 must be achieved in "an increasingly adverse context where population growth, a shrinking resource base, climate change and urbanization will challenge our ability to find new ways of working and interacting," he said. The effort will require "extended partnerships," Graziano da Silva said.

"We need to do more, do it better, faster and together... to transform rural areas into places where people can live fulfilling lives, and plan for a bright future. Where every one of the world's 3 billion rural people is able to adapt to climate change. Where each day starts and ends with access to food that is nutritious and plentiful," said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

"We must renew our efforts to build more sustainable food systems, which are better able to withstand changing weather patterns and extreme events and respond to nutritional needs -- building resilience into our food systems, mitigating the risks, and ensuring we are more prepared for climate shocks in the future," said Elisabeth Rasmusson, Assistant Executive Director of the UN's World Food Program (WFP), noting the effort would require action from diverse stakeholders.

In her opening remarks, CFS Chair Amira Gornass of Sudan emphasized that "building sustainable food systems is in essence working to achieve the food security and nutrition-related targets of the 2030 Agenda."

A global conversation

In addition to acting as the UN system's guiding body for food security and nutrition debates, CFS is structured to allow participants from civil society, the private sector, other UN agencies and international financial institutions, research bodies and other non-state actors a voice in policy decisions. This plenary, the 43rd, has set a record with more than 1,400 registered participants.

Its week-long deliberations will include a host of side events, a forum on urbanization - an increasingly important theme for food security and nutrition.

Delegates will also endorse two sets of policy recommendations, one regarding the role of livestock in sustainable agricultural development and another regarding the importance of connecting smallholders to markets.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447317/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447317/icode/Mon, 17 Oct 2016 02:00:00 GMTWorld Food Day highlights that climate is changing and that food and agriculture must too The World Food Day 2016 slogan: Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too underscores the fact that to feed a global population expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050, humanity needs to produce more food, but in ways that use up less natural resources and that drastically reduce loss and waste.

14 October 2016, Rome - The resounding message from this year's World Food Day celebrations in Rome and in many countries is that climate change, hunger and poverty must be addressed together in order to achieve the sustainable development goals set by the international community.

"Higher temperatures and erratic weather patterns are already undermining the health of soils, forests and oceans on which agricultural sectors and food security depend," FAO Director-General José Graziano said at the global World Food Day ceremony here today.

Droughts and floods are more frequent and intense as are climate-related outbreaks of diseases and pests, he added, citing the terrible impact of El Nino in parts of Africa, Asia and Central American and more recently, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.

"As usual the poorest and the hungry suffer the most and the vast majority of them are small family farmers that live in rural areas of developing countries," the FAO Director-General said, noting how adaptation and mitigation to climate change is fundamental, and that this requires "much better access to appropriate technologies, knowledge, markets, information and investments."

The World Food Day 2016 slogan: Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too underscores the fact that to feed a global population expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050, humanity needs to produce more food, but in ways that use up less natural resources and that drastically reduce loss and waste.

Political will

In his address, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stressed that the fight against hunger is essentially a political issue. "Italy maintains that the fight for food security is, at this point in history, a question of politics with a capital ‘P'," he added.

Prime Minister Renzi said that the international community needs to urgently address the problems of inequality and injustice. Italy would strive to ensure that these themes are at the top of the international agenda, including at two important events in March next year: the G7 summit, which Italy will host and preside and a meeting of European Union leaders.

Renzi noted that Europe should reject a "culture of waste". Italy recently passed a new law aimed at curbing food waste, one that was based, "more on collaboration and less on punishment".

Another keynote speaker at today's ceremony, Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco, whosecountry is hosting next month's COP22 climate talks, said these would be "action-oriented" and geared towards implementing the Paris Agreement.

"The Moroccan Presidency will seek to nurture and promote the spirit of mobilization which prevailed in Paris in terms of increasing climate funding, developing expertise and ensuring the transfer of technology. It will lay special emphasis on adaptation, primarily for the countries of the South and for Small Island States." Princess Hasnaa said.

Pope urges solidarity with "climate refugees"

In a special message read out at the ceremony, Pope Francis linked the impact of climate change on the planet's fields, fisheries and forests to migration of people from rural areas of developing countries. "The most recent data tell us that the numbers of ‘climate refugees' are growing, swelling the ranks of the excluded and forgotten, who are being marginalized from the great human family," the pontiff said.

"From the wisdom of rural communities we can learn a style of life that can help defend us from the logic of consumerism and production at any cost, a logic that, cloaked in good justification, such as increasing population, is in reality aimed solely at the increase in profit," he said.

Pope Francis expressed concern that a growing number of actors in agriculture "believe they are omnipotent, or are able to ignore the cycles of the seasons and to improperly modify the various animal and plant species, leading to the loss of variety that, if it exists in nature, has and must have its role".

What may "give excellent results in the laboratory may be advantageous to some, but it can have ruinous effects for others." He stressed that in dealing with such issues, the world should rely more on the wisdom that farmers, fishers and pastoralists "conserve in memory handed down through generations".

UN Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate, Macharia Kamau, for his part urged for the need "to build stronger solidarity, stronger actions, better partnerships and innovation, including insurance schemes that protect families and take risk out of humanitarian response" programmes.

"The 2030 agenda, at its core, is an agenda for fighting poverty, making sure there is no hunger, and food is there for everybody. And nothing threatens that more than climate change," he said.

"We must change the way we approach food and agriculture. Part of that change is ensuring rural smallholder producers are more resilient than ever before to the impacts of a changing climate," said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). "If we are ever to break the cycle of poverty and hunger, our attention must be focused on these smallholder producers who are the source of food for their families and communities, but are vulnerable to the effects of climate change."

Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP) for her part said: Climate change is already stretching the international humanitarian system financially and operationally, so moving beyond disaster relief to managing risk is an urgent task for all of us. More than 80 percent of world's hungry live in areas prone to natural disasters and environmental degradation. Climate change is not waiting, neither can we."

Mayors Summit

On World Food Day, FAO is also hosting the second Mayors' Annual Summit where mayors and senior officials from more than 45 cities will discuss progress made in meeting the goals of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. The pact calls on cities to develop more sustainable and equitable food systems, end urban hunger, promote healthy diets, reduce waste and conserve biodiversity while adapting to climate change and mitigating its effects.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446764/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446764/icode/Fri, 14 Oct 2016 14:00:00 GMTTransforming agriculture to address climate change and other global challenges In a speech to ministers, government, private sector and civil society representatives attending the biannual meeting of FAO's Committee on Agriculture (COAG), the Director-General noted how "agriculture is at the very heart" of a recent series of ground-breaking international agreements

26 September 2016, Rome - The agricultural sector must transform itself not only to achieve food and nutrition security for all, but also to help address global challenges such as climate change and antimicrobial resistance, FAO Director- General José Graziano da Silva said today.

In a speech to ministers, government, private sector and civil society representatives attending the biannual meeting of FAO's Committee on Agriculture (COAG, 26-30 September), the Director-General noted how "agriculture is at the very heart" of a recent series of ground-breaking international agreements, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

"Sustainable agriculture is paramount to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to sustain natural resources, to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change, to achieve healthier food systems and to build resilience against crises and natural disasters," Graziano da Silva said.

But he noted that while past developments in agriculture have led to major improvements in productivity, "progress has been uneven" and that "greater emphasis must be placed on the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability".

Sierra Leone's Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Monty Patrick Jones, also addressed the meeting, stressing that in Africa boosting agricultural productivity in a sustainable way is not only essential for food and nutrition security, but is also critical to eradicating poverty.

In particular, small-holder farmers "should produce food not just for the table, but also for the market," he said, urging governments to play their part by supporting the process and increasing investments.

"We've seen an increase in investments ... but only a few invest 10 percent" of their budget on agriculture Jones said, referring to a pledge made by African leaders in the 2003 Maputo Declaration.

Another keynote speaker at today's COAG opening, Joachim von Braun, Director of University of Bonn's Center for Development Research, underscored the need for scientific innovation in agriculture to go hand-in-hand with policy reform.

"Agriculture and food systems are transforming, and that must be supported by a sound cooperation between science and policy," von Braun said.

He told participants that for this purpose, an International Panel on Food, Nutrition and Agriculture should be established to assist the international community in the same way as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) "helps guide global climate policy".

FAO action on antimicrobial resistance and climate change

Graziano da Silva, noting that the "role of agriculture goes beyond generating food and income," referred to FAO's recent commitment at the United Nations General Assembly to work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

"We at FAO believe that antibiotics and other antimicrobials should be used in agriculture to cure diseases and to alleviate suffering. Only under strict circumstances they could be used to prevent an imminent threat of infection," the Director-General said.

Graziano da Silva also pointed to growing international recognition that agriculture can play a transformative role in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Countries are set to gather for the COP 22 summit in Morocco in November to put into motion their pledges on climate change, and FAO "stands ready to assist governments, especially of developing countries to have access to international resources that are available to finance these actions," he said.

"Results have well exceeded our targets. More than 80 of these initiatives were implemented in Africa alone," the FAO Director-General said.

He noted that within the Save Food Initiative, FAO supported 45 countries in reducing food waste and loss, through a partnership network that includes civil society, the private sector, the UN institutions and academia.

FAO also provided support to 70 countries across five regions to advance the mainstreaming of food security and nutrition in public policies and programmes.

COAG meets every two years to assess the current state of affairs in world agriculture and provide guidance to FAO on its program of work.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/435876/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/435876/icode/Sun, 25 Sep 2016 22:00:00 GMTUN Secretary General's climate resilience initiative set to mobilize and accelerate climate action for sustainable development Partners of a new UN-led platform to mobilize and accelerate action on climate resilience have agreed to move ahead with plans that will help meet the needs of a growing global population that is being impacted by climate change.

23 September 2016, New York - Partners of a new UN-led platform to mobilize and accelerate action on climate resilience agreed today to move ahead with plans that will help meet the needs of a growing global population that is being impacted by climate change.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Initiative on Climate Resilience, known as A2R (Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape), was launched by world leaders during the Paris Climate Conference last year.

The A2R Leadership Group comprises Germany, Egypt, Morocco, Samoa, the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation's Global Resilience Partnership; Bangladesh based philanthropic Bank BRAC, Insurance Development Forum (IDF), Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Center, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and UN Environment. The Leadership Group is charged with implementing the transformational vision embedded in the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals through an unprecedented global multistakeholder partnership.

It will catalyze climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction efforts to support people in addressing the challenge of climate change, contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the past two decades, 4.2 billion people have been affected by weather-related disasters such as floods, droughts and storms, including a significant loss of lives. At the same time, climate change is increasing at an unprecedented pace. Global surface temperatures and Arctic sea ice extent broke numerous records in the first half of 2016. In addition, each of the first six months of 2016 set a record as the warmest respective month globally in modern temperature records, which date to 1880.

"We have no time to lose," Mr. Ban told the Leadership Group. "The global thermostat continues to rise. Each month brings new temperature records and more floods, droughts and extreme weather events. Vulnerability to climate risk continues to increase. This translates to greater humanitarian need and more economic losses.

"The A2R initiative will help countries secure expertise and financial resources for strengthening climate resilience. Today's launch of the Leadership Group establishes A2R's place within the UN system."

"More than a tenth of the world's population faces climate risks," said Ibrahim Thiaw, deputy head of UN Environment. "The A2R initiative cannot solve this major challenge alone: we must work with the best partners to deliver more effective, scaled up action on climate resilience on the ground."

The A2R initiative addresses the needs of the nearly one billion people who live in at-risk coastal areas just a few meters above rising seas, as well as those living in areas at risk of droughts, floods, storms and other climate-related risks.

"The hardest hit are the poor and vulnerable, including smallholder farmers, fishers, foresters and the indigenous - the same people who provide the bulk of our planet's food," said Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General of FAO. "To feed a growing global population in a changing climate, we must support farming families to adopt risk sensitive agriculture for more productive, resilient and sustainable food systems."

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said, "Building resilience is at the heart of UNDP's efforts to promote a more inclusive and sustainable future for all. Climate change threatens livelihoods and erodes opportunities for poverty eradication."

A2R focuses on accelerating climate resilience for the most vulnerable before 2020 by strengthening three elements: the capacity to better anticipate and act on climate hazards through early warning and early action; the capacity to absorb shocks by increasing insurance and social protection coverage; and the capacity to adapt development to reduce risks at the local, national, regional and international level.

At its first meeting on 24th September, the initiative's Leadership Group and partners will discuss the need for measurable targets for each of the three pillars of A2R and ensure a high profile for A2R's role in promoting the importance of climate resilience at the next global climate meeting (COP22) in Marrakech.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/436080/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/436080/icode/Thu, 22 Sep 2016 22:00:00 GMTMigration should be an act of choice and not a desperate last resort “A necessary first step is to address the factors that lead to distress migration,” FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said during the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants. “We must create the opportunities for rural people in developing countries to stay in their home.”

19 September 2016, New York-Bolstering the opportunities that allow rural people in developing countries to remain at home is a critical component of any plan to tackle the contemporary migration crisis, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today.

"A necessary first step is to address the factors that lead to distress migration," he said today during the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants."We must create the opportunities for rural people in developing countries to stay in their home."

While that is ultimately a collective effort, investing in sustainable agriculture and rural development is an integral part of any solution, Graziano da Silva said.

Large-scale cross-border movements in recent years have sparked tensions in some countries, placing migration high on the diplomatic agenda and front and center at talks this week in New York.

While migration has throughout history been a driver for development, the cost becomes too high when people find that leaving their homes is their only alternative, Graziano da Silva said.

"Migration should be an act of choice, and not a desperate last resort," Graziano da Silva said.

FAO's playbook for rural resilience

A starting point for effective action is rural areas in developing countries, where more than 75 percent of the world's poor and food insecure live.

Such people are highly vulnerable to conflict, persecution, poverty, lack of employment, inequality, environmental degradation and climate change, each and all of which can "quickly chip away at their capacity to provide a decent life for their families," Graziano da Silva said.

FAO promotes measures aimed at building resilience and fostering development in countries where many of today's migrants originate. Ensuring adequate access to land and water, empowering women, and promoting financial inclusion to boosting family farming, paying special attention to rural youth's needs and prospects, and strengthening social protection schemes that can serve as buffers against shocks are among FAO's key priorities.

Facts and figures

There were an estimated 244 million international migrants in the world in 2015, a 40 percent increase since 2000. At the same time, internal migration flows are even larger, involving an estimated 740 million people in 2013. Forcibly displaced persons number roughly 65 million, more than a third of whom are refugees or asylum seekers.

More than half of all rural households in many African countries report having at least one member who has migrated away.

While refugees from conflict situations are often highly visible, 87 percent of people in conflict zones do not flee their homes despite facing severe food insecurity. And almost all of those that do end up in developing regions, with the largest host countries being Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ethiopia and Jordan.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/434127/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/434127/icode/Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:00:00 GMTBringing the blue world into the green economy With fisheries and aquaculture emerging as transformational forces for African economies, more needs to be done to mitigate the impacts of climate change and illegal fishing on oceans and coastal communities.

1 September 2016, Rome -- With fisheries and aquaculture emerging as transformational forces for African economies, more needs to be done to mitigate the impacts of climate change and illegal fishing on oceans and coastal communities.

"Stakeholders from fishing, shipping, energy generation and tourism, to list a few, require responsive and innovative solutions to turn climate change impacts into opportunities," according to Graziano da Silva.

Climate change is an oceans issue, too

African nations are increasingly realizing the critical need to diversify beyond land-based activities and build their country's often rich relationships with the sea, the FAO leader said. But that relationship is becoming less and less predictable due to environmental changes.

"Coastal communities are already being affected by a combination of ocean warming, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, salt-water intrusions, ocean acidification and subsequent changes to the resources they depend on for food and livelihoods," Graziano da Silva noted.

And yet, attention to climate change impacts on the ocean has lagged behind concerns for impacts on land and atmosphere.

This will have to change in order to unlock the full potential of blue growth in broader marine and maritime economies, and prevent others from losing their existing livelihoods, Graziano da Silva said.

The FAO Director-General underscored the disproportionate impacts on Small Island Developing States, saying that "For SIDS countries, this has become a fight for survival."

In these countries, coastal communities are not only more dependent on natural resources but also less able to adapt to change - particularly those in Africa, he said.

Port state measures essential to unlocking blue potential

Climate change is not the only challenge to coastal nations seeking to unleash their true blue potential.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing puts additional stress on oceans and marine resources, siphoning off billions worldwide in government revenue in the process.

For this reason, FAO has been urging governments to sign on to the international Port State Measures Agreement that recently entered in to force and will play a key role in combatting illegal fishing and improving fisheries management.

Currently, however, only 13 out of 34 SIDS countries are party to the agreement, of which only nine countries are in Africa, Graziano da Silva stressed as he urged governments to consider taking immediate action to implement the treaty.

“At next 'Our Ocean’ Conference, September 15-16 in Washington DC, I would like to present publicly the list of countries that have ratified the PSMA,” he said.

The blue economy

Global fish production has grown steadily in the last five decades, even outpacing world population growth. Between the 1960s and 2012, the average per capita fish consumption almost doubled, rising from just under 10 kg to more than 19 kg.

But the blue economy runs on more than just fish. In all, global ocean economic activity is estimated at $3-5 trillion. Ninety percent of global trade moves by marine transport and over 30 percent of global oil and gas is extracted offshore. What's more, expanding knowledge of marine biodiversity has provided breakthroughs in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food production and aquaculture.

Graziano da Silva highlighted the role of ocean health in the UN's new Sustainable Development Goals, along with the success of last year's COP21 Climate Conference in Paris, where marine health featured prominently for the first time.

Looking ahead at the upcoming COP22 in Morocco, the FAO leader said the organization will highlight how oceans can help grow economies and manage climate change at the same time.

"The goal of the international community should be not only building a sustainable green economy, but also a blue one," he concluded.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/431191/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/431191/icode/Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:00:00 GMTOnce upon a time in the future of food and agriculture The World Food Day poster and video contest aims to give children an opportunity to explore this theme and express their ideas about the relationship between climate change, the food we eat, and the causes of hunger - and share them with others.

25 August 2016, Rome - Through a globe-spanning video and poster contest is asking the world's children to help it highlight how climate change is making the task of feeding a growing world population all the more challenging — and what we can all do, together, to meet that challenge.

The number of people on the planet is expected to grow to over 9 billion by 2050, and FAO estimates that global food production will need to increase by 60 percent to keep up with all the new mouths to feed. Meanwhile, the world's small scale and family farmers — who produce much of the food we eat — are among those being hit hardest by higher temperatures, droughts, and weather related disasters associated with climate change.

That's why FAO picked "Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must change too," as the theme of World Food Day 2016 (WFD 2016), which will be celebrated on 16 October.

The World Food Day poster and video contest aims to give children an opportunity to explore this theme and express their ideas about the relationship between climate change, the food we eat, and the causes of hunger — and share them with others.

Children and teens aged 5 to 19 are encouraged to learn about the WFD 2016 theme and use their imagination todigitally design, draw or paint a poster that explores it. Or, if they prefer, young people aged 13 to 19 can produce a video no longer than 1 minute, and upload it to YouTube with the hashtag #WFD2016VideoContest, instead.

To give young minds added inspiration, FAO has teamed up with the well-known Italian illustrator and designer Lorenzo Terranera to create a companion picture book. In it,children will recognize their favourite fairy characters as they discover solutions to climate challenges in an enchanted world.

The deadline for entries is 30 September 2016.

To learn more about the rules of the contest and how to participate, visit the World Food Day 2016 poster and video contest page www.fao.org/WFD2016-Contest.

About World Food Day

FAO celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October to commemorate the founding of Organization in 1945. Events are organized in over 150 countries across the world, making it one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar.

Note: This article was originally published on fao.org on 25 May 2016.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/416025/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/416025/icode/Wed, 24 Aug 2016 22:00:00 GMTSizing up livestock farming’s carbon footprint A new and interactive tool released by FAO allows farmers, policy makers and scientists to calculate meat, milk and eggs production as well as greenhouse-gas emissions from livestock to make the sector more productive and more climate-friendly.

23 August 2016, Rome - A new and interactive tool released by FAO allows farmers, policy makers and scientists to calculate meat, milk and eggs production as well as greenhouse-gas emissions from livestock to make the sector more productive and more climate-friendly.

GLEAM-i, the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model interactive, provides answers to a wide range of questions. For example, as a small livestock keeper or a pastoralist, how can you get your animals to produce more milk, meat or eggs? If you're a policy maker, what practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock should you support?

Based on GLEAM, the model developed by FAO's Animal Production and Health Division to support policy and practice change to achieve sustainable livestock development, GLEAM-i can be run by anyone using the Excel software, including community organizations working in remote rural areas. It includes variables such as countries and regions, the number and types of livestock - dairy or meat sheep, backyard or industrial pigs, grazing or mixed systems - feed materials, manure management as well as the specific conditions under which the animals are kept.

"The objective of GLEAM is to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that livestock activities are as efficient as possible so that they can continue to contribute to people's food, nutrition and livelihood needs while utilizing fewer natural resources," said Anne Mottet, Livestock Policy Officer at FAO.

Hundreds of millions of people around the planet depend on livestock for livelihoods, food security and nutrition. Livestock is particularly important for developing countries where demand for animal protein is growing and for remote and marginal areas, where limited alternatives exist. Yet, it is estimated that the sector is responsible for 14.5 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

FAO research based on GLEAM has found that with feasible and affordable changes, livestock farmers can increase production and reduce emissions by nearly a third.

Precise information about the environmental footprint of livestock supply chains will help stakeholders to take better-informed decisions and reduce greenhouse gases emissions. "For example, governments can use GLEAM-i to prepare national inventories and to develop policies for improved efficiency in animal husbandry, feed and manure management," Mottet said.

GLEAM currently supports a range of national and international projects, including climate smart agriculture initiatives in Ecuador, Niger, Zambia and Malawi. It also supports a program funded by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition initiative on improving productivity and reducing enteric methane emissions in South America, South East Asia and, East and West Africa.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/429417/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/429417/icode/Mon, 22 Aug 2016 22:00:00 GMTEthiopia has staved off worst of El Niño, but possible impacts of La Niña looming large The newly released Mid-Year Review of the Ethiopia Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) indicates that 900 000 additional households need urgent agricultural support bringing the total number to 2.9 million in August. Meeting additional agricultural sector needs will require $45 million bringing the total requirement for the agriculture sector to $91.3 million for 2016.

12 August 2016, Rome - With this year's main planting season winding down in Ethiopia, there is still a small window of opportunity in September for farmers to plant the last set of crops this year and grow food for millions facing hunger, provided the necessary support arrives on time.

The newly released Mid-Year Review of the Ethiopia Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) - developed jointly by the Government of Ethiopia and UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and other development partners- indicates that 900 000 additional households need urgent agricultural support bringing the total number to 2.9 million in August. Meeting additional agricultural sector needs will require $45 million bringing the total requirement for the agriculture sector to $91.3 million for 2016.

The overall food security situation has improved only slightly, with the number of people requiring emergency food assistance having decreased from 10.2 million to 9.7 since the beginning of the year.

The El Niño-induced drought caused a wide-scale failure of crops and loss of livestock critical to the livelihoods of farmers and agropastoralists. The drought is being followed by seasonal floods, which have already led to crop damage and the inundation of pastures and may be further exacerbated by a phenomenon called La Niña, expected from October onwards.

"If floods worsen later this year, there could be outbreaks of crop and livestock diseases, further reducing agricultural productivity and complicating recovery," said Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative to Ethiopia.

"The situation is critical now. We must make sure that farmers will be able to plant between now and September and grow enough food to feed themselves and their families thus avoiding millions of people having to rely on food assistance for another year. Ethiopia needs urgent global support to respond to its humanitarian needs, we have no time to procrastinate," Allahoury added.

The meher season is Ethiopia's main agricultural season and produces up to 85 percent of the nation's food supplies. If the farmers do not plant enough now, Ethiopia may face significant food shortages, which may further exacerbate food and nutrition insecurity in the country.

To ensure the last remaining planting window of the year is met, an estimated $8.8 million is needed to provide root crop planting materials, legumes, vegetable and cereal seed to 530 000 households.

FAO estimates that households who lost small ruminants such as sheep may need at least two years to return to pre-drought levels, while cattle-owning households may need up to four years to recover. Animals that survived the recent drought are still weak and susceptible to diseases during the rainy periods; $36.2 million is required to undertake the necessary interventions to support 2.4 million livestock-dependent households (or 12 million people).

Preparing for La Niña

According to meteorological reports, a La Niña event is 55 percent likely for October to November and will have two major impacts on Ethiopia: flooding in the dominantly highland areas and additional drought in the lowland livestock-dependent areas of Oromia and Somali regions. FAO is supporting the Government to prepare a contingency plan to address the upcoming needs.

FAO's response to the crisis

With resources received, FAO has already provided agricultural inputs to 127 000 households (635 000 people) in drought-affected regions including Amhara, Afar, Oromia, Tigray, Somali and SNNP. So far, nearly 3 700 metric tons of seed and 5.8 million potato cuttings have been delivered to affected communities. Additional vegetable and late season crop seed are being purchased and will be distributed between August and September 2016.

FAO has provided critical support to livestock-owning families. The organization provided livestock feed, fodder seed to rejuvenate pasture, and rehabilitated water points for livestock. FAO has supported the government to vaccinate and treat some 1.4 million animals. However, large numbers of animals has been weakened by the drought and are exposed to diseases as the result of the recent floods. The organization is planning to expand the vaccinations and treatment campaigns.

In order to increase the coverage of both farmers and livestock keepers affected by the drought and current floods, FAO requires $10 million by the end of September 2016.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/429198/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/429198/icode/Thu, 11 Aug 2016 22:00:00 GMTRace against time in drought-ravaged Southern Africa to ensure 23 million people receive farming support Farmers must be able to plant by October and failure to do so will result in another reduced harvest in March 2017, severely affecting food and nutrition security and livelihoods in the region, FAO warned.

28 July 2016, Rome - With only a few weeks before land preparation begins for the next main cropping season, some 23 million people in Southern Africa urgently need support to produce enough food to feed themselves and thus avoid being dependent on humanitarian assistance until mid 2018, FAO said today.

A FAO-prepared response plan aims to ensure that seeds, fertilizers, tools, and other inputs and services, including livestock support, are provided to small-holder farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists to cope with the devastating impact of an El Niño-induced drought in the region.

At least $109 million in funding is required to provide this urgently needed support.

Farmers must be able to plant by October and failure to do so will result in another reduced harvest in March 2017, severely affecting food and nutrition security and livelihoods in the region, FAO warned.

Worst drought in 35 years

Two consecutive seasons of droughts, including the worst in 35 years that occurred this year, have particularly hit vulnerable families in rural areas, as prices of maize and other staple foods have risen.

The result is that almost 40 million people in the region are expected to face food insecurity by the peak of the coming lean season in early 2017. All countries in Southern Africa are affected.

"The high levels of unemployment and sluggish economies, means that the main way people are able to access food is through what they themselves produce. Assisting them to do this will provide lifesaving support in a region where at least 70 percent of people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods," said David Phiri, FAO's Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa.

"We must make the most of this small window of opportunity and make sure that farmers are ready to plant by October when the rains start," he added.

The impact of El Niño continues to be felt, with the effects of the drought expected to peak during the lean season between January and March 2017, FAO said.

Widespread crop failure has exacerbated chronic malnutrition in the region. More than 640,000 drought-related livestock deaths have been reported in Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe alone due to lack of pasture, lack of water and disease outbreaks.

FAO urges investments that equip communities with the ability to produce drought-tolerant seed and fodder, along with climate-smart agriculture technologies like conservation agriculture. The aim is to enable rural families to build resilience and prepare for future shocks.

El Niño's counter-phenomenon, La Niña, is likely to occur later this year and while it could bring good rains that are positive for agriculture, measures must be taken to mitigate the risk of floods which could destroy standing crops and threaten livestock, including making them more vulnerable to disease. Key mitigation measures include strengthening river banks, building of small dams to reduce flash flooding and stockpiling of short-cycle crop varieties which can be planted after flooding subsides and still yield a decent crop.

The complexity and scale of the crisis facing the region demands strong collaboration among humanitarian agencies, regional authorities and national governments. FAO is working closely with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as with the World Food Programme and other United Nations agencies within the framework of the Regional Interagency Standing Committee (RIASCO).

FAO's call for more funding comes on the heels of an SADC regional humanitarian appeal, launched in Gaborone on 26 July 2016 by the SADC Chairperson and President of Botswana, Seretse Khama Ian Khama. The SADC appeal put the overall price tag of helping all sectors of the region's economy recover from the 2016 El Niño at $2.7 billion, of which $2.4 billion is yet to be funded.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/427088/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/427088/icode/Wed, 27 Jul 2016 22:00:00 GMTIndigenous peoples central to efforts to combat climate change Governments must do much more to provide the enabling conditions required for indigenous peoples, local communities, smallholders and their organizations to restore degraded landscapes and achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation in practice, according to FAO.

21 July 2016, Rome - Governments must do much more to provide the enabling conditions required for indigenous peoples, local communities, smallholders and their organizations to restore degraded landscapes and achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation in practice, according to FAO.

Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the 23rd session of the Committee on Forestry, FAO Assistant-Director General René Castro Salazar warned that the issue of indigenous rights to land and territories was ‘critical' for the success of climate change initiatives.

"Unless we help indigenous peoples achieve secure land tenure and better governance, it will be very hard to achieve long-term solutions," Castro Salazar said. "We are lagging behind, and we need to do more."

‘Dire situation'

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said at the event that very few countries have so far made a clear commitment to a requirement in the Paris Climate Change Agreement that countries undertaking climate change activities should ensure the rights of indigenous peoples.

She also highlighted the large number of violent deaths of people protecting their forests and rights to land in 2015 - the deadliest year for environmental defenders on record.

"It's a dire situation in terms of respect for the rights of indigenous peoples," Tauli-Corpuz said.

Vast carbon stocks

A third of global forests are under some form of management by families, smallholders, local communities and indigenous peoples, and represent some of the most important carbon stocks in the world. Government-recognized community forests alone hold an estimated 37.7 billion tonnes of carbon stock.

Family smallholders, local communities and indigenous peoples have a key role to play in preserving these carbon stocks by reducing deforestation, managing forests sustainably and restoring tree cover as part of productive rural economies, particularly when they belong to strong producer organizations.

In addition, an estimated 1.5 billion hectares of land hold potential for smallholder farmers to combine agriculture with trees.

But failure to find the best way to engage with local stakeholders and align their interests with forest conservation can significantly compromise the chances of achieving carbon sequestration and mitigation targets.

Greater ownership

In an outcome statement issued at the close of the event, participants urged governments to provide the enabling conditions required for local communities, indigenous peoples and local producers - with special focus on women and youth - to manage larger territories, from securing and enforcing tenure rights to creating favorable business incentives and offering technical, financial and business extension services.

They also called on global financing mechanisms, government programmes and private investors to direct investment and support towards local communities, indigenous peoples, smallholders and producer organizations.

Finally, they called for climate change initiatives to shift towards giving greater ownership to local communities, indigenous peoples, smallholders and producer organizations and engaging them in participatory and qualitative assessment of the forest cover and trees on farms they manage.

The event was co-organized by FAO and the Forest and Farm Facility, a partnership between FAO, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and AgriCord.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/426406/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/426406/icode/Wed, 20 Jul 2016 22:00:00 GMTRecruiting lumberjacks, architects and carpenters to combat climate change "Forestry for a low-carbon future: Integrating forests and wood products in climate change strategies" is a new FAO publication onw how to catalyse a “virtuous cycle” that exploits the life cycle of lumber products to enhance the ability of forests to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

20 July 2016, Rome - When protecting forests, don't forget the trees.

Forests have an acclaimed role as a carbon sink needed to tackle climate change. Less known is how their contribution can be scaled up even after a tree has been logged.

"Forests are at the heart of the transition to low-carbon economies," says René Castro-Salazar, FAO's Assistant Director-General for Forestry, "not only because of their double role as sink and source of emissions, but also through the wider use of wood products to displace more fossil fuel intense products."

Forests do herculean work in locking carbon dioxide into leaves, branches and soils, while deforestation and forest degradation account for up to 12 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. The relative speed and cost-effectiveness with which forests make their presence - or absence - felt is one key reason they figure prominently in the plans countries are crafting to meet commitments made in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Designed primarily for policy makers and experts but of interest to architects and the energy industry, the report- the fruit of innovative collaboration involving more than 100 experts - looks at how forests can be harnessed to the global climate change challenge.

Its guiding message is that optimal engineering of the carbon lifecycle of trees and wood products allows, over the long term, for sustainably harvested forests to complement and even enhance the climate mitigation benefits provided by conserved forests.

Using trees to shrink carbon footprints

Thanks to technological advances and cleaner, greener methods of processing, the industrial use of wood can contribute to shrinking carbon footprints compared to the use of fossil fuels.

Wood is the main solid biofuel, accounting for 69 percent of the world's renewable energy supply. It is the main household fuel for around 2.4 billion people around the world - more efficient cookstoves could lower the almost two billion tonnes of annual global carbon dioxide emissions they use to prepare food and drinking water.

Meanwhile, where forests are sustainably managed and relatively abundant, woody biomass - usually in the form of pellets, often made from recycled or waste products - can serve as a large-scale energy source. Promoting wood as a renewable energy source may seem counterintuitive, but 1.86 billion cubic meters of wood - more than half the world's wood output - is already used for that purpose, highlighting the potential gains from more sustainable management.

More directly, when wood is transformed into furniture, floors, doorways or beams to be used in construction, it does not instantly oxidize but continues to store carbon. FAO calculates that carbon storage by such wood products in fact offset nearly all of the GHG emissions related to their manufacture.

The net emission footprint of a wooden desk - especially an antique! - is lower than that of modern office furniture made of steel and plastic derivatives with fewer end-of-life disposal options. The same is generally true of many wood-based construction materials when subject to life-cycle assessments.

Fostering access to and adoption of "cascading biomass" options - for example, recycling wood used in construction for furniture or packaging and then again used as an energy source - could lead to reducing carbon emissions by up to 135 million tonnes as well as easing the need for landfills.

Today there is growing evidence that wood-based products are highly competitive with alternative construction materials. The carbon balance of a timber-frame building is only half that of a concrete-frame structure.

While wood has a long history as a green building material in countries with boreal forests - more than 80 percent of houses in the United States and Scandinavia are wood-framed, compared to only four percent in France - its acceptance could grow more quickly with the right policy nudges.

Carbon pricing mechanisms, university curricula, public procurement policies and even insurance rules are crucial to loosen the "technological lock-in" exercised by traditional systems based on bricks, cement and steel, the report says.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/426068/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/426068/icode/Tue, 19 Jul 2016 22:00:00 GMTFAO study provides the most detailed snapshot to date on trees, forests and land use in the world's drylands The study's preliminary findings show that trees are present with hugely varying densities on almost one-third of the world's 6.1 billion hectares of drylands, which cover an area more than twice the size of Africa. Almost 18 percent of this area contains forests.

19 July 2016, Rome - A new FAO report helps to fill a significant knowledge gap on the presence and extent of forests and trees in the world's drylands, where the food security and livelihoods of millions of people, already precarious, are increasingly being threatened by climate change.

Issued today, the study's preliminary findings - the full report will be launched later this year - show that trees are present with hugely varying densities on almost one-third of the world's 6.1 billion hectares of drylands, which cover an area more than twice the size of Africa. Almost 18 percent of this area contains forests.

An estimated 2 billion people, 90 percent of whom are in developing countries, live in drylands. Recent studies have indicated the need to restore these areas to cope with the effects of drought, desertification and land degradation.

In particular, water availability in drylands is expected to decline further due to changes in climate and land use. Poor people living in remote rural areas will be most vulnerable to food shortages, which combined with violence and social upheaval, are already leading to forced migration in dryland regions in Africa and western Asia.

Until now, there has been little statistically based knowledge on dryland trees - particularly those growing outside forests - despite their vital importance to humans and the environment.

The leaves and fruit of trees are sources of food for people and fodder for animals; their wood provides fuel for cooking and heating and can be a source of income for poor households; trees protect soils, crops and animals from the sun and winds, while forests are often rich in biodiversity.

New data, technology made large-scale study possible in record time

As the first statistical sampling-based assessment of land use in the world's drylands, the FAO study provides a baseline for monitoring changes in dryland forests, tree cover (density), and land use. It provides governments, donors and other stakeholders in sustainable development with a valuable tool to guide policy-making and targeting investments.

Using satellite images available publicly through Google Earth Engine, Bing Maps and other sources, FAO's study draws information from over 200,000 sample plots each measuring approximately 0.5 hectares. The sampling error for the estimate of the total forest land for all drylands is about +/- 1 percent.

The satellite images were interpreted using Collect Earth, a tool in the Open Foris suite of free, open source software developed by FAO's Forestry Department to make it easier for experts from around the world to collect, analyse, report and share data.

FAO stresses the participatory nature of the assessment, which was conducted as a series of regionally focused training, and data-collection workshops organized in collaboration with partners including universities, research institutes, governments and non-governmental organizations worldwide. This approach, coupled with the use of the new software developed by FAO, Collect Earth, permitted a massive study to be undertaken in the previously unthinkably short time-span of less than a year

Drylands are divided into four aridity zones (see map): the dry subhumid zone, is the least arid of the four zones and consists mostly of the Sudanian savanna, forests and grasslands in South America, the steppes of eastern Europe and southern Siberia, and the Canadian prairie. Most dryland forests occur in this zone, as do some large irrigated, intensively farmed areas along perennial rivers; at the other extreme, the hyperarid zone is the driest zone and it is dominated by desert - the Sahara alone accounting for 45 per cent, and the Arabian desert forming another large component.

The study indicates that grassland constitutes 31 per cent of land use in drylands, forests 18 percent, cropland 14 per cent, wetland 2 percent and human settlements 1 percent. The largest portion, 34 percent, which is categorized as "other land", consists largely of bare soil and rock.

While the new study reports results on global and regional levels, FAO is ready to assist in adapting the methodology for country-level assessments on request. These in turn could enhance the ability of governments to track progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 15, which focuses on sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation and halting biodiversity loss.

Restoring tree-based systems and other fragile ecosystems in drylands

The study methodology is being already used for the baseline assessment and monitoring in the FAO-implemented project, "Action Against Desertification" an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).

Over four years, until 2019 ACP, the European Union, FAO, the African Union Commission and other partners will support six African countries - Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal - as well as Fiji and Haiti in improving the condition and productivity of land affected by degradation, drought and desertification.

Factbox

At a glance: some preliminary findings of the FAO Global Drylands Assessment:

The global drylands contain 1.11 billion hectares of forest land, which is 27 percent of the global forest area, estimated at approximately 4 billion hectares.

Two-thirds of the drylands forest area can be defined as being dense, meaning it has closed canopies (i.e. a canopy cover greater than 40 percent).

The second most common land use in drylands is grassland (31 percent), followed by forest (18 percent) and cropland (14 percent). The category other lands constitutes 34 percent of the global drylands area.

The least-arid zones have the most forest. The proportion of forest land is 51 percent in the dry subhumid zone, 41 percent in the semiarid zone, 7 percent in the arid zone and 0.5 percent in the hyperarid zone. The average crown cover density is ten times higher in the dry subhumid zone than in the hyperarid zone.

Trees outside forests are present on 1.9 billion hectares of drylands (31 percent of the global drylands area), if all land with more than 0 percent crown cover is included. Thirty percent of croplands and grasslands have at least some crown cover, as do 60 percent of lands classified as settlements.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/425931/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/425931/icode/Mon, 18 Jul 2016 22:00:00 GMTUN seeks to boost response to El Niño's dire impact in Africa and Asia/Pacific, urges La Niña preparedness The heads of the three Rome-based UN agencies urged greater preparedness to deal with the possible occurrence later this year of a La Niña climate event, closely related to the El Niño cycle that has had a severe impact on agriculture and food security.

6 July 2016, Rome - Combined efforts to prevent further human suffering, strengthen resilience and safeguard livelihoods in the wake of El Niño's devastating effects worldwide must be rapidly ramped-up by governments and the international community, United Nations (UN) leaders said today.

More than 60 million people worldwide, about 40 million in East and Southern Africa alone, are projected to be food insecure due to the impact of the El Niño climate event.

The heads of the three Rome-based UN agencies urged greater preparedness to deal with the possible occurrence later this year of a La Niña climate event, closely related to the El Niño cycle that has had a severe impact on agriculture and food security.

Scientists are predicting an increasing likelihood of the opposite climate phenomenon, La Niña, developing. This will increase the probability of above average rainfall and flooding in areas affected by El Niño-related drought, whilst at the same time making it more likely that drought will occur in areas that have been flooded due to El Niño.

The UN estimates that without the necessary action, the number of people affected by the combined impacts of the El Niño/La Niña could top 100 million.

To coordinate responses to these challenges and to mobilize the international community to support the affected governments, UN agencies and other partners met at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today. The meeting included the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office of Lesotho, Kimetso Henry Mathaba, Minister for Livestock, Forestry and Range of Somalia, Said Hussein Iid, and Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare of Zimbabwe, Priscah Mupfumira, also attended. Keynote speakers included World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas, and UN Special Envoy for El Niño and Climate, Ambassador Macharia Kamau.

Participants noted that almost $4 billion is required to meet the humanitarian demands of El Niño-affected countries and that almost 80 percent of this is for food security and agricultural needs.

The meeting called for action to recover agricultural livelihoods that have been severely damaged by the droughts associated with El Niño. Acting now will ensure that farmers have sufficient levels of agricultural inputs for upcoming planting seasons.

Furthermore, FAO, IFAD and WFP are redoubling efforts to mitigate the negative impacts and capitalize on positive opportunities of a likely La Niña phenomenon in the coming months. This means acting decisively to prepare for above-average rainfall in some areas and potential drought conditions in others.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva warned that the impact of El Niño on agricultural livelihoods has been enormous and with La Niña on the doorsteps the situation could worsen.

"El Nino has caused primarily a food and agricultural crisis", Graziano da Silva said. He announced that FAO will therefore mobilize additional new funding to "enable it to focus on anticipatory early action in particular, for agriculture, food and nutrition, to mitigate the impacts of anticipated events and to strengthen emergency response capabilities through targeted preparedness investments."

Mobilizing resources for rapid action now can save lives and minimize damage while reducing costs in the future, said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin.

"The massive impact of this global El Niño event, exacerbated by persistent poverty and chronic hunger in many countries, threatens the food security of millions of people who are the least able to cope," she said.

"Farms have failed, opportunities for work have evaporated, and nutritious food has become increasingly inaccessible for many communities," Cousin added. "But new humanitarian crises are not inevitable if we invest in support for communities and provide the tools and skills required to endure climate-related shocks."

IFAD Associate Vice President, Lakshmi Menon, reminded the global community not to forget about small-scale farmers, who are the most vulnerable to these extreme weather events. "Small-scale farmers in rural areas are disproportionally impacted by these natural disasters because many of them depend on rainfed agriculture for their lives and livelihoods, and they do not have the capacity to bounce back from shocks. We need to invest in building their long-term resilience so when the next El Niño and La Niña cycles hit, they are better prepared and can continue to grow food for their families," she said.

UN Special Envoy for El Niño and Climate, Ambassador Macharia Kamau said: "It is clear that these types of extreme weather events are stressing already-vulnerable communities, threatening to undermine development gains of recent decades and impede achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals."

He noted that the humanitarian community in partnership with governments and regional authorities have developed a number of plans in order to respond to the current El Niño event, and that these plans are multisectoral and require longer-term, predictable funding in order to ensure they are fully implemented.

Responding to El Niño, preparing for La Niña

Drought has gripped large swathes of east and southern Africa and has also hit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Viet Nam, while El Nino-associated storms have wiped out harvests in Fiji and some of its neighbouring island states.

Participants noted that in southern Africa a three-month "window of opportunity" exists before the 2016/17 planting season begins and that adequate interventions, including agricultural input distributions are urgently needed to avoid the dependence of millions of rural families on humanitarian assistance programmes well into 2018.

In Southeast Asia, drought and saltwater intrusion are threatening the livelihoods of farmers in Viet Nam and also seriously impacting household food security and cash availability. With the monsoon season fast approaching, most farmers need to purchase inputs for their upcoming agricultural and animal production activities. While in the Pacific region the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau have already declared a state of emergency and below-normal rainfall is forecast to continue across the northern and western Pacific areas threatening the livelihoods and well-being of 1.9 million people.

Working in partnership

FAO's work

In Southern Africa, FAO is supporting more than 50 000 households including in Zimbabwe with livestock survival feed and drought-tolerant sorghum and cowpea seeds, and in Malawi, by vaccinating small livestock and providing drought-resistant cereals and irrigation support. In Lesotho and Mozambique, FAO has been strengthening national response and providing coordination support.

Throughout the Horn of Africa, in partnership with governments NGOs and other UN agencies, FAO is coordinating drought-related interventions, providing agricultural inputs, helping to rehabilitate water structures and animal health and production, and plant and animal disease surveillance and control.

In the Asia Pacific region, FAO's El Niño response includes a detailed assessment of the situation in Viet Nam where it is also on standby to provide emergency seeds and tools. In Fiji, FAO is currently providing emergency assistance to 1 050 households as part of the Cyclone Winston response. FAO is working with partners in Papua New Guinea to support farming families in the worst affected provinces with drought-tolerant seeds and smart irrigation material (e.g. drip-irrigation systems). In Timor-Leste, additional maize and cover crop seeds are being distributed to farmers affected by El Niño.

IFAD's work

Building climate resilience to drought and other extreme weather events is a priority in IFAD-supported projects and this is helping vulnerable families cope with the impacts of El Niño. For example, in Ethiopia small-scale irrigation schemes have ensured farmers are less dependent on rainfed agriculture. This is coupled with training in more sustainable water usage, water harvesting techniques and rehabilitation of degraded soils. In the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam, IFAD-supported projects are helping farmers to access saline-tolerant rice varieties and to diversify their incomes into small-scale aquaculture, so they are not solely dependent on rice and can continue to earn incomes during the drought.

WFP's work

World Food Programme has rapidly scaled-up relief operations to assist communities grappling with El Niño's impacts, providing emergency food where needed or cash to buy food where markets are functioning. In Ethiopia, more than 7.6 million people have received food assistance from WFP and more than 200 000 people have also received cash transfers.

In Swaziland, WFP has launched emergency food distributions and in Lesotho, has begun cash-based transfers. In Malawi, WFP will scale up its new lean-season food assistance programme to reach more than 5 million people by November. In Papua New Guinea, over 260 000 people affected by El Niño-related food insecurity are receiving WFP food assistance.

Resilience-building is integrated into emergency responses when possible. In Zimbabwe, a grains production pilot supported by weather-based financing facility FoodSECuRE trains smallholder farmers in climate-smart agriculture and the use of drought-tolerant grains. The Rural Resilience risk management Initiative (R4) has provided El Niño-related payments to affected farming families in Ethiopia, Malawi and Senegal. WFP also works closely with African Risk Capacity (ARC), an insurance pool to lower the cost of the response to disasters before these become humanitarian crises."

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/423058/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/423058/icode/Tue, 05 Jul 2016 22:00:00 GMTTo reduce El Niño's impact on Central America's Dry Corridor, build resilience and invest in sustainable agriculture To raise awareness and coordinate responses to both the protracted El Niño-related crises in the Dry Corridor and the possibility of a related La Niña event in the second half of 2016, UN agencies and other partners met today at FAO's Rome headquarters with the aim of mobilizing the international community to support the efforts of governments, UN agencies and other partners.

30 June 2016, Rome - Urgent action by the international community and governments in the Dry Corridor of Central America is essential to help build resilience, food security, and restore livelihoods damaged by drought and other extreme-weather effects of El Niño, United Nations leaders said today.

The devastating El Niño event that began in 2015 was one of the worst on record and its impact continues to be felt in the Dry Corridor, compounding the damage from two consecutive years of drought. As a result, some 3.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance with 1.6 million moderately or severely food insecure in the hard-hit countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

To raise awareness and coordinate responses to both the protracted El Niño-related crises in the Dry Corridor and the possibility of a related La Niña event in the second half of 2016, UN agencies and other partners met today at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The meeting included the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), with the aim of mobilizing the international community to support the efforts of governments, UN agencies and other partners.

Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Nutrition of Guatemala, Mario Méndez, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras, Jacobo Paz Bodden, and Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of El Salvador, Hugo Flores, joined the meeting which concluded with a communiqué that stressed common challenges within the Dry Corridor, including adaptation of the production systems of small-scale family farmers to climate change; and expanding efforts to reduce poverty, inequality and the socioeconomic and environmental vulnerability of the region.

In opening remarks, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva stressed that "the challenge facing the Dry Corridor is not only climate change: it is also extreme poverty, and food and nutritional insecurity," adding: "We need to change the traditional response strategy and tackle the structural causes of poverty and food insecurity in Central America's Dry Corridor, and not settle for simply mounting a humanitarian response every time an emergency situation occurs."

He also noted that the strategic alliance between the Rome-based UN organizations (FAO, IFAD, WFP) as well as South-South Cooperation efforts will be fundamental to eradicating hunger and poverty in Central America's Dry Corridor, however, the scale of the challenge requires the support of the entire international community.

IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze said: "It is crucial to respond to the immediate needs of people suffering as a result of El Niño. But we also need to acknowledge that climate change will continue to exacerbate these extreme weather events. The only way to ensure future food security in the region is to invest in long-term development to help people be more resilient to shocks so that they can continue to feed their families."

Coordinated action between agencies and partners to build resilience among the vulnerable people of the Dry Corridor will save lives while working to eliminate food insecurity, said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin.

"Together, we must not only eliminate poverty but also pre-emptively address the extraordinary level of social, economic, and environmental susceptibility experienced by vulnerable people living in the Dry Corridor - all of which contribute to food insecurity," Cousin added.

"Data and experience clearly demonstrate that the costs of emergency response and rehabilitation after a disaster occurs substantially exceed the price tag for risk reduction and mitigation action taken before disaster strikes."

El Niño and La Niña events, more frequent and more severe

Some 10.5 million people, about 60 percent of whom are in poverty, live in the Dry Corridor, a region characterized by extensive deforestation, soil degradation and water scarcity.

These conditions are exacerbated by El Niño and its counterpart La Niña which occur cyclically. However, in recent years extreme weather events associated with these two phenomena, such as droughts and floods, have increased in frequency and severity, mainly due to the effects of global climate change,

Social and economic inclusion

The communiqué of today's meeting stresses the need to ensure social and economic inclusion of vulnerable communities while increasing and diversifying income opportunities, changes that will, in turn, reduce high levels of migration. The communiqué also underscores the importance of boosting public and private investment as well as technical and financial cooperation to target entrepreneurship programmes and job creation for rural women and young people. This could include improving the provision of water, and sanitation, health, education, roads, electrification and better access to credit, technology and markets.

Working in partnership

FAO's work

In the Dry Corridor area of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, FAO is supporting small-scale producers and rural communities that are highly vulnerable to extreme natural hazards, such as recurrent droughts, excessive rains and severe flooding.

With the goal of reducing the impact of extreme climate events, FAO's work in the region involves strengthening the disaster risk management capacities of national and local authorities and setting up information and early warning systems. Good practices and technologies are promoted by, for example, providing seeds for short-cycle and drought-resistant crops, establishing water harvesting systems and community contingency funds and supporting agroforestry.

In addition, the Central American Development Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and FAO today agreed they would work jointly to promote investments that contribute to reducing rural poverty and promoting socio-economic development and Central American integration, as well as supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and measures in the Dry Corridor countries.

Initial areas of focus include: the Dry Corridor: land restoration and integrated approaches to land use; mountain and sustainable forest management; public-private partnerships and market access. Other potential areas of collaboration between CABEI and FAO are innovative and integrated forest and land management approaches.

IFAD's work

IFAD currently supports a wide range of projects in the Dry Corridor areas of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua which are helping poor, small-scale farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change and increase their resilience to extreme weather events. In El Salvador, for example, farmers are being introduced to soil and water conservation methods as well as cultivation techniques better-suited to dry regions.

IFAD-supported projects in Dry Corridor countries are also involved in constructing water harvesting structures, generating up-to-date information and research that helps forecast climate risk and vulnerability, and helping farmers with basic household improvements such as building energy-efficient stoves and low-flow latrines. Believing that investments in long-term resilience can reduce the impact and cost of disasters, IFAD is actively involved in policy dialogue with governments and decision-makers in the region.

WFP's work

WFP provided assistance to 1 million people annually in 2014 and 2015 in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, primarily through cash-based transfers. WFP has prioritized assistance to an anticipated 600,000 severely food insecure households until the end of August 2016, especially those expecting just one harvest rather than the usual two.

WFP has supported national relief responses and recovery efforts from the effects of the drought in the Dry Corridor of Central America exacerbated by El Niño, especially during the last part of 2015. Immediate support was provided to drought-affected food-insecure populations and facilitated their recovery through asset creation and training, with a view to laying the foundation for a transition to resilience-building through WFP programmes and capacity development activities at the regional and country levels.

More specifically: In drought-damaged communities in Honduras, WFP is delivering 170 tonnes of Super Cereal Plus, a supplementary and nutritious food enriched with protein, vitamins and minerals, to assist children aged under five who are at risk of malnutrition. As of April 2016, more than 9,200 children in 44 municipalities and five departments received distributions.

In Guatemala, WFP is working with the government to provide conditional food assistance in return to assets creation to facilitate emergency response planning, Participants include: small farmers or seasonal workers without food reserves; households relying on agriculture as their main income, and households with more than 50-75 percent of staple grains losses.]]>

23 June 2016, Rome - Pope Francis in a meeting today with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva praised the agency's efforts to address migration in the Mediterranean region as well as its work to promote the strong links between peace and food security, climate change and sustainable development.

Graziano da Silva briefed the pontiff on FAO's Blue Hope Initiative which seeks to transform Southern Mediterranean coastal zone communities into engines of stability and growth, in particular by supporting the activities of small-scale fisheries.

"Migration is an issue which is very close to Pope Francis' heart. Much more needs to be done to tackle what is happening in the Mediterranean where more than 2,500 people are estimated to have died so far this year in attempts to reach Europe by sea," the FAO Director-General said after today's meeting.

The pontiff and Graziano da Silva also discussed the current peace efforts underway in Colombia and in the Central African Republic and the hope that lasting solutions will be found for the conflict in the two countries.

Boosting rural development to counter migration

In his discussion with the pontiff, Graziano da Silva outlined FAO's belief that increasing investments in food security, sustainable rural development and in efforts to adapt agriculture to climate change, will help create the conditions whereby people, especially the youth, will no longer be forced to abandon their lands in order to seek a better life elsewhere.

He described to Pope Francis FAO's position on the issue of migration and the agency's role in efforts aimed at achieving the international community's Sustainable Development Goals, including the eradication of hunger by 2030.

Graziano da Silva also informed Pope Francis of his concern over the impact that the El Niño climate event is having on large swathes of the globe, such as severe drought and flooding. The UN's High Level Task Force on Global Food and Nutrition Security, of which Graziano da Silva is Vice-Chair, on Wednesday held a special discussion on El Niño.

The FAO Director-General informed the pontiff that FAO will be hosting two high-level meetings to examine the extent of El Niño on Central America's Dry Corridor and in Africa, Asia and the Pacific on 30 June and 6 July 2016 respectively.

The FAO Director-General noted how around the world, climate change is putting at risk the livelihoods of millions of small-scale family farmers, many of whom are heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture.

Graziano da Silva stressed that responding to the impacts climate change requires investing in improving poor rural communities' ability to access land, credit and other resources while also ensuring they are provided with basic services like water, sanitation, health, education, transport infrastructure and electricity.

Pope Francis, for his part, expressed concern with the current bureaucracy in international organizations and said that within the UN system they should work more for the benefit of their member states.]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/421029/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/421029/icode/Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:00:00 GMTFAO urges more efforts to address rural hunger and poverty, reduce migration pressure "The migratory pressures causing major concern at a global level today result from war, conflict and political instability, but FAO also calls for adequate attention to be given to pressures associated with the very root causes of migration," Graziano da Silva told participants at the European Development Days 2016 in Brussels.

15 June 2016, Brussels - Sustainable rural development is key to addressing hunger, poverty and the other root causes of migration, a growing phenomenon which is undermining many countries' ability to achieve their development goals, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today.

"The migratory pressures causing major concern at a global level today result from war, conflict and political instability, but FAO also calls for adequate attention to be given to pressures associated with the very root causes of migration," Graziano da Silva told participants at the European Development Days 2016 in Brussels.

Persistent economic distress, poverty, food insecurity, changing demographics and climate, as well as increasing inequalities and pressures on natural resources, are forcing millions of people to seek a better life elsewhere, often abroad, the FAO Director-General stressed.

A central element to counter this trend is to improve for the rural poor, especially small-scale family farmers, access to land, water, credit, markets and technology, Graziano da Silva said.

Graziano da Silva noted how achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 of ending hunger, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable development practices, poses a particularly difficult challenge in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia where the levels of extreme poverty and undernourishment are still very high.

The FAO Director-General stressed the importance of helping to build rural communities' resilience and boosting access to decent jobs, especially for women and young people. He also referred to social protection as a buffer in times of need and as a source of extra income to invest in productive assets.

"We also need increased investment in areas that really benefit the poor population. This includes ensuring their access to public goods such as education, health, clean water and sanitation," he added.

Climate change

Combating the impacts of climate change is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2, Graziano da Silva said. "The international community must step up to help countries move to the next stage: that is to identify specific adaptation strategies, finance opportunities, technology transfer and robust data collection," he added.

For its part, FAO stands ready to support its member countries to identify specific adaptation strategies, such as the implementation of climate-smart agriculture techniques and practices, the Director-General noted.

Antimicrobial Resistance

Graziano da Silva also referred to the link between Sustainable Development Goal 2 and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) which often results when antimicrobial drugs are misused in the treatment and prevention of diseases in livestock, the aquaculture sector as well as crop production, raising the potential risk of emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistant micro-organisms.

While noting that good progress has been made to combat AMR through the World Health Organization Global Action Plan, FAO, which is working closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) believes much more needs to be done, Graziano da Silva said.

"I would like to count on the support of European countries through voluntary contributions, either financial or in-kind," he said noting that the difficulty of finding well-trained people in this field could be addressed through the secondment of experts at national level.

FAO and the European Union, a fruitful partnership

In his address, Graziano da Silva thanked the European Union (EU) for supporting FAO's programmes and projects worldwide. In particular he cited joint initiatives such as the EU Food Facility which came about as a response to the 2007-2008 global food crisis, and the Food and Nutrition Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation Programme (FIRST), which seeks to mobilize skilled professionals to provide policy and capacity-building support to countries.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/418730/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/418730/icode/Tue, 14 Jun 2016 22:00:00 GMTFAO study identifies small fish with a big role to play feeding Africa’s drylands Fish weighing as little as one gram could be crucial allies in the race to end hunger in some of the world’s most chronically poor and underfed regions, according to a new FAO report on fisheries in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa

14 June 2016, ROME-Small, fast growing wild fish could be crucial allies in the race to end hunger in some of the world's most chronically poor and underfed regions, according to a new FAO report on fisheries in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa.

Water is an ephemeral resource in Africa's dryland regions, with water bodies forming and disappearing in a relatively short period of time. Despite this, fish - some of which weigh as little as a few grams at maturity - can survive and thrive in these environments, meaning the continent's dryland fisheries are in fact highly productive and resilient, the report says.

Output from dryland fisheries fluctuates due to climate trends - mainly low and above all uncertain rainfall -but productive potential is very high in smaller water bodies, some of which appear only once a decade but can produce up to 150 kilograms of fish per hectare per year. Together, these small water bodies cover a much larger area than the sub-Saharan region's lakes and reservoirs.

Properly managed, these bodies in southern Africa alone could produce 1.25 million tonnes of fish -- half the total recorded inland fisheries yield of the entire continent, the report found.

While the small-scale fisheries sector is often neglected by policy makers, and even dismissed for its inability to generate wealth, it can be very efficient as a buffer resource. When mixed with crop and livestock activities allows for resilient and diversified livelihoods in an unpredictable environment, say the authors of Fisheries in the Drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report also found higher fish consumption in dryland areas than reported in official figures, indicating an unexpectedly important role in local food security, leading the researchers to explore management improvements for an inherently boom-and-bust resource.

Fish offer a nutritional punch, delivering the cheapest form of animal protein as well as amino acids, fats and micronutrients that are otherwise hard to obtain in the sub-Saharan drylands, where reported per capita fish consumption is much lower than the Africa-wide average of 10 kilograms per year.

How can you get fish in a dryland?

"Fish are incredibly productive when conditions are right," according to lead author Jeppe Kolding, a professor of biology at the University of Bergen in Norway. Their egg-laying capacities made them "more like insects than other vertebrates," he said.

Half of sub-Saharan Africa consists of dryland areas, where surface water fluctuates widely and ecosystems are adapted to unpredictable precipitation.

Indeed, Lake Ngami in Botswana and Lake Liambezi in Namibia were both dry for more than two decades while today they are characterized by outstanding fish yields. And dryland fisheries - by definition highly variable - can produce up to four times the amount of fish as a large tropical lake or reservoir, according to the report.

Just how fish survive such daunting habitat changes - Sudan's Khasm el-Girba reservoir is flushed dry every year but fish always rush back - is not fully understood. Clarias gariepinus - African catfish - can survive by burying themselves in mud, while other species evidently find refuge in small nearby streams, both strategies that, thanks to the roller-coaster demography allowed by fish fecundity, fit the common local claim that "fish come with the rains."

A practical path to increase the benefits of dryland fisheries

While fisheries cannot be a magic bullet for the 390 million people who live in Africa's dryland areas, they have a key role delivering Blue Growth, because they can be leveraged to provide multiple benefits.

The massive productive potential of dryland fisheries represents a critical asset - dietary protein and economic option - in a region where food and nutritional needs are unlikely to be satisfied by agricultural development alone.

Exploiting it will require recognition of fisheries in dryland water management, food and nutrition policies. Further benefits could be had if adequate processing and storage facilities were introduced, as sun-dried fish caught in a boom year can last for years and could be tapped as a local supply for emergency food rations around the region.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/417908/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/417908/icode/Tue, 14 Jun 2016 08:00:00 GMTPower of the pulse: Top chefs share secrets of bean cuisine in colorful new book Lovers of peas, pinto beans, lentils and their leguminous cousins can now boost their appetites and cooking skills thanks to a colorful new book featuring recipes from international top chefs passionate about one of the world’s most versatile super foods: pulses.

26 May 2016, Rome -- Lovers of peas, pinto beans, lentils and their leguminous cousins can now boost their appetites and cooking skills thanks to a colorful new book featuring recipes from international top chefs passionate about one of the world’s most versatile super foods: pulses.

Launched today by FAO,“Pulses, nutritious seeds for a sustainable future” takes readers on a 190-page journey through kitchens and cultures across the world, delving into cooking pots and local histories to explore the indigenous roots, contemporary benefits and timeless flavors of dried bean cuisine.

In addition to providing an overview of pulses and the ways they benefit nutrition, health, biodiversity and food security, the book explains step-by-step what to look for when buying them, how to grow them at home, and how to cook them. It follows ten internationally acclaimed chefs on their daily trip to the market and joins them back to their kitchens as they prepare three easy, pulse-based dishes and share their best kept cooking secrets.

And the book doesn’t just cater to readers’ taste buds – it’s also packed with information, graphics and factoids on pulses: their diversity, where they’re grown and which countries grow and trade them, and their nutritional characteristics.

“It is a book filled with illustrations and beautiful photographs and shows the many ways in which pulses contribute to food security, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation and overall health,” FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said at the launch event taking place in Rome today. “Pulses provide an affordable alternative to animal protein and are increasingly becoming an important crop for small family farmers,” he added.

Special ambassadors to act as advocates

At today’s ceremony, Graziano de Silva named UK food writer and blogger Jenny Chandler Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses 2016 for the Europe region. In addition to writing on her food blog, she’s the author of four cooking books, including one exclusively dedicated to pulse recipes.

She joins a group of regional ambassadors for the International Year who will support FAO in promoting the health and environmental benefit of pulses through international events and outreach to media.

In addition to Chandler, they are Joyce Boye from Canada (North America), Kadambot Siddique from India (Asia), Elizabeth Mpofu from Zimbabwe (Africa), and Magy Habib from Egypt (Near East). The nomination for Latin America and the Caribbean is being finalized.

Why pulses?

From falafel to dahl to chilli, the book shows how pulses are part of food culture and standard diet across the planet and a key ingredient in many signature national and regional dishes (learn more: What are pulses).

While small, pulses are packed with proteins – double that found in wheat and three times that in rice. Particularly when they’re consumed with cereals, pulses increase the protein quality of meals. They are also rich in micronutrients and b-vitamins, and the fact that they’re cheap makes them ideal for improving diets in poorer parts of the world.

But their health benefits don’t stop there. Pulses are also excellent for managing weight, cholesterol and digestive health and for combating anemia in women and children. And because they do not contain gluten, they are ideal for celiac patients.

Benefits for biodiversity, climate adaptation

Because pulses help fix nitrogen in our soils, they makes for healthier, more productive farmland, which leaves farmers less dependent on synthetic fertilizers and leads to a smaller carbon footprint.

Plus, by improving soil health overall, they create a rich home for germs, bugs and bacteria of various kinds, which boost below-the-surface biodiversity, too.

In the age of climate change, pulses have much to offer to farmers looking to adapt their production to changing climate conditions: with hundreds of varieties to choose from, there’s a pulse for nearly every environment

“Pulses, nutritious seeds for a sustainable future,” digs deeper into these and many other facts about the power of pulses. The hardcover book is currently available in English, French, Spanish, and versions in Arabic, Chinese and Russian are in production. It retails at $29.95 through FAO and select distributors (email publications-sales@fao.org for direct orders and local retail information or find it on Amazon in hard copy and kindle format).

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/416320/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/416320/icode/Wed, 25 May 2016 22:00:00 GMTBuilding resilience to enable vulnerable people cope with natural disasters and pandemic threats In developing countries, the agriculture sectors absorb around one quarter of damages and losses caused by climate-related events. Emerging or re-emerging disease threats are arising due to globalization, demographic growth, climate and land use change, as well an intensification of agricultural activity.

24 May 2016, Istanbul - Building resilience is crucial to enable fragile communities, especially in rural areas, cope with the increasing frequency and magnitude of natural disasters and the growing threat of pandemic diseases, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today told participants at the World Humanitarian Summit.

"We need to be prepared: with climate change, extreme weather events will happen more often and with greater intensity," he said.

In developing countries, the agriculture sectors absorb around one quarter of damages and losses caused by climate-related events with around 2.5 billion smallholders particularly at risk, Graziano da Silva noted.

Similarly, emerging or re-emerging disease threats are arising due to globalization, demographic growth, climate and land use change, as well an intensification of agricultural activity, he added.

"Agriculture, forestry and fisheries have a key role to play in changing the way we manage risk and crises. They are central to ensuring food security and nutrition in the face of climate change," Graziano da Silva said.

Social protection

In already volatile situations, extreme weather events put lives and livelihoods at greater risk and one "fundamental commitment" to address this is using social protection policies, the FAO Director-General noted.

FAO is a member of the Social Protection Inter-Agency Coordination Board, which is calling for prioritizing investments in prevention and resilience; building on humanitarian response mechanisms to leverage investments in nascent safety nets; and enhancing the response capacity of national and subnational actors.

Strengthening veterinary systems

Graziano da Silva also noted that some 60 percent of the new human pathogens, such as Ebola, SARS, Avian Influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, have animal origins. Prevention, detection and response at their animal source is the only way these threats can be managed and controlled before they become epidemics or cause starvation and economic crises.

"But it requires access to affordable tools, vaccines and treatments, and more investment in early warning and early action to prevent disasters," he said, adding:"This is why strengthening veterinary systems is paramount to safeguarding human health, yet investment in this sector is weak".

He noted that FAO with the World Organisation for Animal Health, the World Health Organization and other partners is fully committed to the "One Health" approach that links animal and human health.

Concerted global efforts in health protection, with an emphasis on integrated and multidisciplinary approaches to health risk management are needed, Graziano da Silva said, stressing the need for vigilance.

He cited how coordinated international efforts helped many countries eliminate the H5N1 avian influenza virus from poultry, but that in 2014/2015 the disease made a comeback including re-entry into West Africa. This once again saw FAO and its partners at the forefront of combating this persistent disease.]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/416016/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/416016/icode/Tue, 24 May 2016 08:00:00 GMTAgriculture sector key to protecting livelihoods, addressing conflict and climate change risks The Director-General noted that for decades FAO has worked in, and across both the humanitarian and development spheres in order to save lives, protect and restore livelihoods, combat hunger, malnutrition and poverty while striving to build resilience and sustainable food systems.

23 May 2016, Istanbul - Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are central to ensuring food security and protecting livelihoods and play a key role in changing the way we manage risks and crises including natural disasters stemming from climate change, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today told participants at the World Humanitarian Summit.

"Food and nutrition security, sustainable development, addressing humanitarian crises, conflict resolution and peace building: these are different facets of the same challenge," he said.

The first condition to resolve conflicts is finding political solutions and this requires states and governments to uphold their responsibilities, Graziano da Silva said.

"To move beyond business as usual, we need to broaden the scope of interventions - completing and supporting, not replacing - humanitarian response," he added. "We need to prioritize investments in prevention and resilience, precisely so that we can help reduce future humanitarian needs".

FAO commitments: from delivering aid to ending need

The Director-General noted that for decades FAO has worked in, and across both the humanitarian and development spheres in order to save lives, protect and restore livelihoods, combat hunger, malnutrition and poverty while striving to build resilience and sustainable food systems.

At the World Humanitarian Summit FAO is making several key commitments. These include scaling up the Organization's work on social protection and cash transfer programmes by linking them to agriculture and rural development, and scaling up initiatives that link more closely food security and climate change adaptation measures.

FAO is also committed to working with key partners including national governments, the private sector, civil society and local communities in developing an integrated framework for protracted crises that supports greater alignment among humanitarian, development, peace and human rights actors.

In this context, Graziano da Silva today joined UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other top officials from six other UN institutions at the Summit to sign the document "Commitment to Action: Transcending humanitarian-development divides - Changing People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need".

Among other things, the Commitment to Action refers to the new way of humanitarian work elaborated in the UN Secretary-General's report for the Summit One Humanity: Shared Responsibility.

It calls for a better use of resources and capabilities, improving the outcomes related to the Sustainable Development Goals for people in situations of risk, vulnerability and crisis in order to reduce humanitarian needs over the long term.

The Commitment also calls on the signatories to galvanize new partnerships and collaboration, including through the private sector, local actors or Multilateral Development Banks to provide additional capabilities and resources in support of achieving measurable outcomes for people and communities.

In addition the signatories pledged to introduce key changes to the way they work in contexts that enable the putting in place of: i) pooled and combined data, analysis and information; ii) better joined up planning and programming processes; iii) effective leadership for collective outcomes; and iv) financing modalities to support collective outcomes.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/415820/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/415820/icode/Mon, 23 May 2016 08:00:00 GMTFood guidelines offer opportunities to protect the planet, too What we eat matters not just for our health, but for the planet, too. Yet only a handful of pioneering governments have issued guidelines promoting “win-win” diets that can help tackle two of the most urgent challenges of our time: securing good nutrition for all and addressing climate change.

19 May 2016, Rome -- What we eat matters not just for our health, but for the planet, too. Yet only a handful of pioneering governments have issued guidelines promoting “win-win” diets that can help tackle two of the most urgent challenges of our time: securing good nutrition for all and addressing climate change.

This is a key conclusion from a new study by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN) at the University of Oxford published today.

The “Plates, Pyramids, Planet” report evaluates government-issued food guidelines from across the globe, looking in particular at whether they make links to environmental sustainability in addition to promoting good eating habits. At the time the study was conducted, only four countries’ recommendations – Brazil, Germany, Sweden and Qatar – drew connections to the threats posed by modern food production systems and the dietary patterns that drive them. Two more – the Netherlands and the United Kingdom- have since taken steps to incorporate environmental considerations into their food guidelines.

But the low number of countries overall signals a real missed opportunity for many countries to promote diets and food systems that are not only healthy but sustainable, the study argues.

A win-win for health and environment

Poor dietary habits, rich in meat and foods that are high in sugar and fat and low in whole grains, fruits and vegetables have been closely linked to noncommunicable diseases —a leading cause of premature death, not only in high-income countries but also many parts of the developing world. These diets are typically not only unhealthy, but environmentally unsustainable.

“Growing numbers of people now understand that diets rich in whole-grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables -- with reduced consumption of meat and smaller quantities of high-fat and high-sugar foods -- are good for our bodies. There is also ample evidence showing that such diets have much lower environmental impacts than the unhealthy and unsustainable eating patterns that are increasingly prevalent today,” explains lead author Carlos Gonzales-Fischer of FCRN. “So by eating well for our own personal health, we’re also doing right by the planet – in essence, it’s a win-win.”

“Between the new Sustainable Development Goals –the SDGs -- and the Paris climate agreement, the international community is making a clear push to position sustainability at the heart of planning and decision making,” adds Anna Lartey, Director of FAO’s Nutrition and Food Systems Division. “Specifically SDG 2 makes a clear link between the needs for healthy nutrition and sustainable agriculture -- and it’s time that dietary guidelines reflect that relationship.”

Guidelines around the world

More than 80 governments – just over a third of all countries in the world-- already issue advice to their citizens in the form of food based dietary guidelines: short, science-based, practical and culturally appropriate messages that guide people on healthy eating and lifestyles. Their numbers are growing, including in low and middle income countries.

Despite these encouraging developments, however, most governments have yet to issue national dietary advice, and this lack is particularly apparent in low income countries – only five countries in Africa have such guidelines, for example.

And most existing guidelines still fail to consider the environmental impacts of dietary choices.

The four countries that do include such issues of sustainability all highlight that a largely plant-based diet has advantages for health and for the environment. Notably, Sweden is providing more detailed advice on which plant-based foods are to be preferred, recommending for example root vegetables over salad greens. Most guidelines that include sustainability talk about the high environmental impact of meat. But the advice often lacks specificity and where maximum intake levels are given they are based only on health, rather than environmental concerns.

Brazil’s guidelines stand out for emphasizing the social and economic aspects of sustainability, advising people to be wary of advertising, for instance, and to avoid ultra-processed foods that are not only bad for health but are seen to undermine traditional food cultures.

From guidelines to policies

The study emphasises that, to have a real effect on food consumption, dietary guidelines need to have clear links to food policies that are actually implemented – such as school and hospital meal standards and advertising and industry regulations.

“Dietary guidelines are an essential first step -- they provide a vision, at national level, of how we could and should be eating. But often the connection with practical policies on the ground is absent, or unclear,” says co-author Tara Garnett.

The report’s overarching suggestion is that countries that already have dietary guidelines should begin to consider a process of incorporating sustainability into them. “Those countries that do not already have them are in a unique position to develop integrated guidelines from the outset,” Garnett explains.

### About FAO

FAO leads international efforts to defeat hunger. It helps countries to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. FAO focuses special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. For more information visit: www.fao.org or follow FAO on Twitter @FAOnews

About the FCRN

The Food Climate Research Network is an interdisciplinary and international network operating at the intersection of food, climate, and broader sustainability issues. Its mission is to foster the informed dialogue and critical thinking needed to build mutual understanding and collective action on food systems sustainability. For more information visit www.fcrn.org.uk or follow FCRN on Twitter @FCRNetwork

Characteristics of low environmental impact diets consistent with good health*

• Diversity - a wide variety of foods eaten.• Balance achieved between energy intake and energy needs.• Based around: minimally processed tubers and whole grains; legumes; fruits and vegetables - particularly those that are field grown, "robust" (less prone to spoilage) and less requiring of rapid and more energyintensive transport modes. Meat, if eaten, in moderate quantities - and all animal parts consumed.• Dairy products or alternatives (e.g. fortified milk substitutes and other foods rich in calcium and micronutrients) eaten in moderation.• Unsalted seeds and nuts.• Small quantities of fish and aquatic products sourced from certified fisheries.• Very limited consumption of foods high in fat, sugar or salt and low in micronutrients e.g. crisps, confectionery, sugary drinks.• Oils and fats with a beneficial Omega 3:6 ratio such as rapeseed and olive oil.• Tap water in preference to other beverages - particularly soft drinks.

* Adapted from: Garnett, T. (2014). Changing What We Eat: A Call for Research and Action on Widespread Adoption of Sustainable Healthy Eating. Food Climate Research Network

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/414955/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/414955/icode/Wed, 18 May 2016 22:00:00 GMTDrones help farmers in the Philippines prepare for climate disasters In a bid to stay ahead of the negative impacts of climate change, floods and typhoons on food security, the Government of the Philippines and FAO have started using unmanned aerial drones to assess where farmlands are most at risk from natural disasters and quickly assess damages after they strike.

25 April 2016 - In a bid to stay ahead of the negative impacts of climate change, floods and typhoons on food security, the Government of the Philippines and FAO have started using unmanned aerial drones to assess where farmlands are most at risk from natural disasters and quickly assess damages after they strike.

Under a pilot phase of the still-fledgling project funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Philippines and the FAO, two drones have already been sent soaring over the Philippines provinces that have been affected by the current El Niño.

Some 25 FAO and government technical experts are ready to be deployed across the archipelago to support drone missions. They were recently trained over three weeks on how to fly the drones and learned a range of remote aerial assessment methods.

The drones are equipped with navigation and photogrammetric equipment that can generate detailed and data rich maps from aerial photographs including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index or NDVI, a formula used for assessing vegetation and plant health.

Data gathered can be used to see where agricultural systems are at particular risk from natural disasters -- and identify ways through which such risks can be countered, for example, through ground contouring, building retaining walls, or planting protective vegetation.

Capable of covering up to 600 hectares a day, the drones should significantly accelerate the process of risk analysis, according to Christopher Morales, Director of Field Operations for the Philippines Department of Agriculture.

"It is efficient, it saves time and we will be using a reliable source of data so that we can plan and provide appropriate interventions and responses for our farmers in times of disasters and calamities," he says.

"Additionally, imagery generated from drone flights can reveal where agricultural infrastructure projects and service facilities like irrigation or storage facilities could be sited to best serve local farmers. The technology can also potentially support in the assessment of coastal and forest areas." said Jose Luiz Fernandez, FAO Representative in the Philippines.

A new tool for countries at risk from natural disasters

The Philippines is among the world's most at-risk countries for tropical storms and other disasters.

Over the past decade, earthquakes, typhoons and floods have claimed thousands of human lives and periodically left parts of the archipelago's infrastructure and economy in tatters.

Such disasters impact heavily on farms and food systems, leaving people without food in their immediate aftermath and undermining food production capacity for years afterwards.

Approximately 20 strong typhoons affect the Philippine Area of Responsibility each year. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan alone devastated 600 000 hectares of farmland and caused over $700 million in damage to the agriculture sector. In addition, the country is also highly vulnerable to other natural hazards such as drought, flooding and volcanic eruptions.

The vulnerability of the agriculture sector to natural hazards is evident elsewhere across the globe as well. Nearly a quarter of all damages inflicted by natural hazards such as drought, floods storms or tsunamis in the developing world are absorbed by the agriculture sector, FAO studies have shown.

Preparing for such events and taking steps to reduce risks to farmers and farming systems can greatly reduce such damages and avoid the need to build agriculture back from scratch following a disaster.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411596/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411596/icode/Sun, 24 Apr 2016 22:00:00 GMTTo fight climate change, invest in agriculture n addition to reducing poverty and hunger, agriculture can play a crucial role in making the response to climate change responsible and more effective, Maria-Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources said today.

22 April 2016, New York - In addition to reducing poverty and hunger, agriculture can play a crucial role in making the response to climate change responsible and more effective, Maria-Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources said today.

Agriculture can help reduce the impact of climate change; thus fostering resilience among communities, she said during a High-Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN Headquarters. Semedo was in New York to attend the signing ceremony of the Paris Climate Change Agreement as well as other high level events.

Some 175 countries today signed the historic accord -- agreed last December in the French capital -- at a ceremony at UN headquarters hosted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Agreement recognizes "the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the impacts of climate change".

It also highlights the need to "increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience (...) in a manner that does not threaten food production."

Impact on agriculture

Agriculture is one of the main sectors of the economy that is severely affected by climate change. The recent El Niño phenomenon is a testimony to that, Semedo noted.

The support for the agreement comes at a time when some 60 million people around the world are being affected by the El Niño climate event.

It is important to note that the rural poor and small holder farmers are severely affected by climate change threats, Semedo stressed.

Role of farmers

During speaking engagements at various high level events, the FAO Deputy-Director General reiterated the crucial role of family farmers in poverty and hunger eradication.

Poverty and hunger have similar causes and are often bound together - and must therefore be tackled together.

"Support to end extreme poverty, hunger and all other forms of malnutrition by 2030 - the key of SDGs 1 and 2. Nearly 80 percent of the extreme poor and hungry people live in rural areas, so let's empower rural actors, small holders, rural women, youth, and indigenous peoples in our collective action," said Semedo.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411696/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411696/icode/Fri, 22 Apr 2016 14:00:00 GMTOn Earth Day, FAO Director-General stresses need to protect ecosystems Faced with rising levels of hunger in mountainous regions across the developing world, FAO today launched a special funding-and-planning mechanism to ensure sustainable development and food security in highland regions, home to some 329 million people at high risk for hunger.

Earth Day, he said, "has called to our attention the fact that the earth and its ecosystems are our home. And we must take care of them. It has also served to help us reflect on the environmental challenges facing us in order to determine how we can best meet them."

On the campus of FAO's Rome headquarters, the Director General planted a symbolic tree to mark the occasion- later in the day, parties to the Paris Climate Agreement will come together in New York to officially sign the landmark climate treaty.

Earth Day also coincided with the launch of a new Mountain Facility that aims to address the needs of people living in highland areas in the world.

New mountain facility

Faced with rising levels of hunger in mountainous regions across the developing world, FAO launched the special funding-and-planning mechanism to ensure sustainable development and food security in highland regions, home to some 329 million people at high risk for hunger.

FAO research shows that one in three people living in mountain areas across the developing world are very likely to go without the calories and nutrients they need to live healthy lives -- in rural areas that number shoots up nearly half the population.

An FAO report released late last year found that vulnerability to hunger has risen by 30 percent in mountain areas between 2000 and 2012, at the same time that hunger levels worldwide have fallen.

Through the new Mountain Facility, FAO aims to respond to this alarming trend by supporting governments and NGOs in addressing long-term and emerging challenges related to climate change, market access and management of natural resources, among other issues.

Spearheaded by the Mountain Partnership within FAO, the Facility is raising funds to tackle the mountain hunger problem through five areas of intervention: local economies, climate change adaptation, natural resources, policy, and capacity building.

"We cannot talk about fighting hunger and boosting development worldwide without giving special attention to the plight and needs of mountain peoples. The numbers show this and our pursuit for progress requires it," said FAO Assistant Director-General Rene Castro Salazar. Examples of interventions include improving value chains of environmentally-friendly mountain products, increasing access to training and credit for vulnerable groups including women and indigenous peoples, and creating disaster risk management plans that can help communities mitigate the negative impacts of shocks.

The action plan also foresees actions to preserve and restore water sources, soils and forests, and in protect precious mountain biodiversity.

Mountain zones cover 22 percent of the earth's land surface and are home to 13 percent of the human population. Ninety-percent of the people who live in mountains, live in developing countries.

For mountain peoples, the key factor is inclusive growth, meaning growth that promotes access for everyone to food, assets, infrastructure and training, particularly for poor people and women so they can develop their potential.

Including mountains in national development plans and developing strong mountain-specific policies and institutions are two specific areas to which FAO aims to channel resources through the Mountain Facility.

The facility was launched at an event in Rome convened by the Permanent Missions Costa Rica, Italy, Uganda and Switzerland to the United Nations, who through the Mountain Partnership have taken a leading role in promoting mountain issues in developing countries.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411660/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411660/icode/Thu, 21 Apr 2016 22:00:00 GMTGoogle and FAO aim to usher in new era of environmental literacy for all FAO and Google are working together to make high-resolution satellite data an everyday tool in managing the world’s natural resources in a joint effort to boost "environmental literacy". The recently-established partnership already allows resource managers and researchers in many countries to gauge changing land uses of individual field-sized plots seen by eye-in-the-sky satellites.

15 April 2016, Rome--FAO and Google are working together to make high-resolution satellite data an everyday tool in managing the world's natural resources in a joint effort that is changing the way the world goes about pursuing sustainable development.

Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Rebecca Moore, Director at Google Earth Outreach and Earth Engine, hailed the intensification of the recently-established partnership at a joint event after a busy week of training and brainstorming at FAO's headquarters in Rome.

The collaboration already allows resource managers and researchers in many countries to gauge changing land uses of individual field-sized plots seen by eye-in-the-sky satellites. The method offers a quantum leap towards improved abilities to assess a landscape's carbon storage capacity or plan a nation's approach to greenhouse gas emissions.

For example, easily accessible and rapidly-updated remote sensing data enable a shift in forest management from inventory reports to taking the almost real-time pulse of forests, thus opening a host of new policy prospects and further opening the doors of scientific perception.

FAO and Google are "ushering in an unprecedented level of environmental literacy," said Graziano da Silva.

The initial focus is the forestry sector, where national experts can, after a short training, use FAO software and Google's accessible geospatial data archives to conduct - in a few hours - mapping and classification exercises that used to take weeks or months. Opportunities for future collaboration are vast, and may lead to innovation in a range of issues from dietary nutrition and pest control to water management and climate change.

"The more people involved, the better it works," said Graziano da Silva. "Understanding the effects of climate change, planning the improvements in the efficiency of production and distribution of food, and monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals require more frequentand precise data on the environment and its changes," he added.

"Partnerships like this bring our products into actual use," said Google's Moore, who described her team as "built to do science." The partnership with FAO is a way "we can each bring our unique strengths to make a change for future generations", she said.

Taking technology to new frontiers

The combination - in which Google makes data and processing power easily accessible while FAO devises ways to extract useful information - has already moved into innovative territory, notably with a Global Dryland Assessment, in which national experts, university researchers, partner institutions and FAO combined forces in an open-sourced exercise. Results will be published later this year.

FAO's Locust Control Unit has used Earth Engine to improve forecasts and control of desert locust outbreaks. Satellites cannot detect the dreaded insects themselves but can accelerate identification of potential breeding areas and make ground interventions more effective. Other prospective applications for the technology may reduce crop losses yields and enhance plant health. Forest cover monitoring has proven useful in Costa Rica, as trees provide habitat for birds that predate on the coffee berry borer beetle, which can ravage up to 75 percent of a coffee farmer's crop.

Further innovative uses will emerge as more people learn how to use FAO's Open Foris and CollectEarth tools. In late May, a team from NASA, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will be visiting Rome to study how to use these tools.

Google has put a huge archive of Landsat satellite images dating back to 1972 on the cloud, and recently added data delivered from Copernicus, the European system for monitoring the Earth, which are particularly useful for fast-moving real-time studies as they will cover the same plot of land every five days.

Besides the land-use focus, Google is making a parallel effort to allow data from remote sensors to track global water trends, including availability and reserves.

Seeing both the forest and the trees

Satellite imagery cannot replace the local knowledge and expertise - often dubbed "ground truth" - but it can boost the efficiency, quality, transparency, credibility, and above all the timeliness and efficacy of data collection and the validation of existing global mapping products.

For example, by zooming in to highly-granular local plots, researchers and officials may distinguish between temporary loss of tree cover due to harvesting and deforestation driven by land use change, an important technical difference in terms of carbon sequestration. By the same token, citizens may be able to make more efficient use of their natural resources and even police their misuse.

"We will be able to provide, every 10 days, forest assessments and in the near future food crop cover assessments, which are especially important in times of climate change," said René Castro, FAO's Assistant Director General for Forestry.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/410307/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/410307/icode/Fri, 15 Apr 2016 09:00:00 GMTUN urges stronger, coordinated international response to address El Niño impacts The appeal came at a meeting organized in Rome by four UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

23 March 2016, Rome - The United Nations has called for a stronger response by governments, aid organizations and the private sector to address the devastating impact the El Niño climate event is having on the food security, livelihoods, nutrition and health of some 60 million people around the world.

The appeal came at a meeting organized in Rome by four UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

Participants, including representatives from governments, non-governmental organizations and other UN agencies, took stock of the growing impacts of the current El Niño, which is considered as one of the strongest in history.

They noted that more than $2.4 billion are needed for current El Niño emergency and recovery-responses and currently there is a $1.5 billion gap in funding.

A global crisis

El Niño-related impacts have been felt across the globe since mid 2015. Among these are severe or record droughts in Central America, the Pacific region, East Timor, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and in Southern Africa. In addition, floods have affected certain parts of Somalia and the Tanzania, devastating forest fires have once again resurfaced in Indonesia while some regions has witnessed storms, as in the case of Fiji with Tropical Cyclone Winston.

These disasters have resulted in a wide range of consequences, most importantly, severe increases in hunger, malnutrition, water- and vector-borne diseases and the prevalence of animal and plant pests and diseases. Increasingly, populations are on the move: families across the globe are being forced into distress migration, both within and across borders, as their sources of livelihood disappear.

The meeting underscored that while the 2015-2016 El Niño has passed its peak as a meteorological phenomenon, it will continue to influence temperature and rainfall patterns causing extreme events in different parts of the world. These pose risks to health, water supply and food security - the numbers of those threatened by hunger as a result are expected to grow. These effects could last for long after the El Nino phenomenon has subsided.

Long-term impacts include higher malnutrition rates - some 1 million children are in need of treatment for severe malnutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa - and an increase in poverty, rendering vulnerable households less resilient to future shocks, and stalling countries' progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

People relying on livestock for their livelihoods are particularly vulnerable given the long time frame required to rebuild herd numbers which have been decimated by drought. Sparse or absent rains also result in a loss of soil productivity and greater land degradation, factors that contribute to desertification.

Acting now, preparing for the future

The meeting ended with a series of commitments by FAO, IFAD, OCHA and WFP aimed at urgently scaling up responses to the current El Niño crisis while also ensuring a more effective response to similar events in the future.

The agencies committed to working closely with resource partners to help address the funding gap. One important way of doing this is to help prioritize the geographical areas that require urgent attention. They also pledged to work with governments, aid organizations, other development partners as well as the private sector to assist the worst hit populations with a mix of short-, medium- and longer-term efforts, including scaling up of existing social protection schemes.

Looking to the longer term, they also agreed that there is a need to redouble efforts to support and build the capacity of national governments to mitigate and respond to future El Niño and other climate-related events. As part of this, FAO, IFAD, OCHA and WFP said they would work with development partners to ensure that disaster risk reduction projects are stepped up in the most vulnerable areas.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/389418/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/389418/icode/Tue, 22 Mar 2016 23:00:00 GMTOn International Day of Forests, FAO launches new forest and water programme The programme, focused specifically on the close relationship between forests and water, will start off by looking at ways to improve water security in eight West African countries: Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Sierra-Leone.

The programme, focused specifically on the close relationship between forests and water, will start off by looking at ways to improve water security in eight West African countries: Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Sierra-Leone. The agency will work with local communities to raise their awareness of the interactions between forests and water and help them to integrate forest management in their agricultural practices to improve water supplies.

FAO is using this year's International Day of Forests celebration to shine a spotlight on how forests can contribute to improving water availability, especially in countries facing scarcities of this precious resource which is becoming increasingly important in the face of climate change.

"The challenges are many, but the goal is very clear: to ensure the sustainable management of forest and water resources on the planet," said FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva in his remarks at the IDF ceremony in Rome. "Promoting forest restoration and avoiding forest loss will require a significantly increased level of funding and innovative financing, including from private funds and traditional investors, in the coming years."

"FAO is committed to providing a neutral platform for negotiations and dialogue, to encourage greater interaction among all the parties working to achieve sustainably managed forests," he added.

Focus on improved monitoring

The programme kicks-off with a first focus on setting up a forest-water monitoring framework to help countries assess potential forest benefits in terms of water resources. This will involve developing a set of standardised monitoring indicators and field methods to identify which forest management interventions result in improved water quality and enhanced supplies. This data will be in turn used to develop better-informed practices and policies to unleash the full potential of forests in improving water supply.

The monitoring framework will be piloted in West Africa's Fouta Djallon Highlands, with field activities having kicked off this month. The project, funded by the Global Environmental Facility, is being jointly implemented by FAO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the African Union (AU).

Forests and the water cycle

The water security of eight out of ten people in the world is under threat. Forests have an important role in providing and regulating water at the local and regional levels in a number of ways, from groundwater recharge and erosion control to promoting precipitation through evapotranspiration.

Forested watersheds and wetlands provide about 75 percent of the planet's freshwater resources, while over one third of the world's largest urban centres depend on protected forests for a significant proportion of their water.

In addition to boosting supplies, forests also maintain water quality: it is estimated that every $1 spent on sustainable forest watershed management can save $7.5 to $200 in water treatment costs.

"The role of forests for water is becoming even more important in the face of climate change, with increased incidences of extreme climate events such as flooding and drought, and increased water insecurity," said FAO Assistant Director General of Forestry, René Castro. "The new programme that we've launched today aims to showcase that forestry is not always in competition with agriculture and urban development for water, but on the contrary can address water and food security issues and produce more resilient landscapes".

The International Day of Forests celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations.

FAO also used the occasion of the day to highlight the major contribution of forests to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While SDG 15 addresses the need to sustainably manage forests and trees, forests also play a vital role in achieving those goals related to ending poverty, achieving food security, and ensuring sustainable energy, and in particular SDG 6 on providing clean water and sanitation.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/394351/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/394351/icode/Thu, 17 Mar 2016 23:00:00 GMTCommunity-based forestry can be a driving force in boosting sustainability and people’s livelihoods Community-based forestry has shown itself to be a potent vehicle for promoting sustainable forest management, reducing poverty and generating jobs and income for rural communities, but unlocking its true potential will require greater support by governments through policy reforms and other measures.

23 February 2016, Clark, Philippines/Rome - Community-based forestry has shown itself to be a potent vehicle for promoting sustainable forest management, reducing poverty and generating jobs and income for rural communities, but unlocking its true potential will require greater support by governments through policy reforms and other measures.

Many community-based forestry regimes are showing great promise as engines for sustainable development but are still performing below their potential, a new FAO report released today at the start of Asia-Pacific Forestry Week says.

Under the approach, local communities partner with governments to play a lead role in making land-use decisions and managing the forestry resources they depend on for their livelihoods.

According to "Forty years of community based forestry: A review of extent and effectiveness", almost one-third of the world's forest area is now estimated to be under some form of community-based management.

Yet in many cases, while in practice policies may exist for the decentralization and devolution of rights and responsibilities to communities, the right conditions may not yet be in place for them to fully exercise their rights.

The report outlines a series of actions needed to make community-based forestry more effective, including providing communities with secure forest tenure, improving regulatory frameworks, and transferring appropriate and viable skills and technology.

Access to markets and knowledge of market mechanisms are also essential if communities and smallholders are to commercialize their forest products, which can significantly contribute to poverty reduction.

"Indigenous peoples, local communities and family smallholders stand ready to maintain and restore forests, respond to climate change, conserve biodiversity and sustain livelihoods on a vast scale", said Eva Müller, Director of FAO's Forestry Policy and Resources Division. "What is missing in most cases is the political will to make it happen. Political leaders and policy makers should open the door to unleash the potential of hundreds of millions of people to manage the forests on which the whole world depends for a better and sustainable future".

Sharing best practices

The report also cites a number of successful examples of community-based forestry from around the world.

A study in four eastern hill districts in Nepal showed that denuded hills had been regenerated and the condition of forests improved substantially following the introduction of community forestry. As a result, the total number of trees per hectare increased by more than 50 percent while the overall area of forests grew by around 30 percent over a 15 year period.

Mexico has a long history of community forestry with up to 80 percent of the country's forests under the legal jurisdiction of communities. Many of them operate local forest enterprises to commercialize the timber they produce. Forest communities there benefit from a combination of tenurial rights including strong commercial rights to harvest and market timber products.

In Cameroon, revisions to forest laws in 1994 have enabled community associations and cooperatives to acquire exclusive rights to manage and use up to 5 000 hectares of forest per community under a 25-year contract, resulting in the creation of 147 new community forest management areas covering a total area of 637 000 ha of humid forest.

In the Gambia, 10 percent or approximately 45 000 ha of the country's forested land is managed either through community-based forest management or joint forest park management. In the 25 years since the introduction of community-based forestry, the forest area has increased by more than 10 percent.

A vital sector for Asia-Pacific region

Asia-Pacific Forestry Week (22-26 February) - one of the largest and most important forestry events in the region - has been co-organised by FAO and the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippines.

It brings forestry leaders, policy makers and industry experts from 30 countries together to discuss the most pressing issues for forestry and its role in advancing sustainable development in Asia-Pacific. This includes the new UN Sustainable Development Goals, regional trade agreements, sustainable production to meet the region's growing demand for wood and timber, climate financing, enhancing disaster resilience, and other issues.

"Through the Sustainable Development Goals we have an opportunity and responsibility to help unlock the full potential of forests in supporting sustainable development that no other generation has had before," Müller said during the Week's opening ceremony today.

"Like the SDGs, the Paris Climate Change Agreement also gives a substantive role to forests in achieving its ambitious objectives and is expected to mobilize financial resources that help convert the political commitment to concrete actions in support of forests and sustainable forest management", she added.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/384146/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/384146/icode/Mon, 22 Feb 2016 23:00:00 GMTThe potential of agricultural biotechnologies in assisting family farmers Opening the FAO-hosted international symposium "The Role of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition", Graziano da Silva stressed the need for "a broad portfolio of tools and approaches to eradicate hunger, fight every form of malnutrition and achieve sustainable agriculture."

15 February 2016, Rome - Much more must be done to ensure that family farmers, especially those in developing countries, have access to agricultural biotechnologies that can make their activities more productive and sustainable in the face of major challenges such as climate change and population growth, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today.

"As a neutral forum, FAO has been promoting debates, dialogues and exchanges of information in order to enhance our knowledge of these tools and approaches," the FAO Director-General added.

The symposium focuses mainly on the broad range of biotechnologies that could result in yield increases, better nutritional qualities, and improved productivities of crops, livestock, fish and trees benefitting family farmers and their food systems, nutrition and livelihoods.

These include many "low tech" applications, for example fermentation processes, bio-fertilizers, artificial insemination, the production of vaccines, disease diagnostics, the development of bio-pesticides and the use of molecular markers in developing new varieties and breeds.

"We cannot lose sight that biotechnologies, knowledge and innovation must be available, accessible and applicable to family farmers including small holders," Graziano da Silva told symposium participants. "We must find the means to remove the barriers that prevent their availability to family farmers," he added.

"Let me state this loud and clear: this symposium is not about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Agricultural biotechnologies are much broader than GMOs," the FAO Director underscored.

About 500 scientists, representatives of government, civil society, the private sector, academia, farmers' associations and cooperatives are participating in the three day event. A high-level ministerial segment will take place on 16 February.

Ahead of the symposium, FAO issued a worldwide public call of interest to ensure the broadest possible range of participants. All non-state actors were given equal space, and they responded according to their interests.

Sharing knowledge, experience and best practices

Through a series of presentations and side events, symposium participants will share knowledge, experience and best practices on how biotechnologies can help to make the transition from agricultural production that relies of fewer inputs with less negative impacts. Several success stories will be discussed. Examples of these - none of which involve GMOs - can be found here.

"We want to investigate and give examples of how modern biotechnologies can be compatible with principles of agroecological approaches," Graziano da Silva said, noting that knowledge and innovation "grounded on sound evidence and science" are key to address the complex challenges of sustainable agriculture.

The symposium is planned around three main themes: climate change impacts; sustainable food systems and nutrition; and, people, policies, institutions and communities.

It also includes a special student interactive session to provide an opportunity for the young generation to listen to symposium speakers and to present their views. Students from five agricultural universities around the world will hold live webinars through video links with FAO headquarters in Rome.

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/383082/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/383082/icode/Mon, 15 Feb 2016 08:00:00 GMTEl Niño set to have a devastating impact on southern Africa’s harvests and food security Southern Africa is currently in the grip of an intense drought that has expanded and strengthened since the earliest stages of the 2015-2016 agricultural season, driven by one of the strongest El Niño events of the last 50 years.

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; FEWS NET - Famine Early Warning Systems Network; JRC - European Commission's Joint Research Centre;WFP - World Food Programme12 February 2016, Rome - Southern Africa is currently in the grip of an intense drought that has expanded and strengthened since the earliest stages of the 2015-2016 agricultural season, driven by one of the strongest El Niño events of the last 50 years.

Across large swathes of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, and Madagascar, the current rainfall season has so far been the driest in the last 35 years. Agricultural areas in northern Namibia and southern Angola have also experienced high levels of water deficit.

Much of the southern African sub-region has consequently experienced significant delays in planting and very poor conditions for early crop development and pasture re-growth. In many areas, planting has not been possible due to 30 to 50 day delays in the onset of seasonal rains resulting in widespread crop failure.

Although there has been some relief since mid-January in certain areas, the window of opportunity for the successful planting of crops under rain-fed conditions is nearly closed. Even assuming normal rainfall for the remainder of the season, cropwater balance models indicate poor performance of maize over a widespread area.

Seasonal forecasts from a variety of sources (1) are unanimous in predicting a continuation of below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures across most of the region for the remainder of the growing season.

The combination of a poor 2014-2015 season, an extremely dry early season (October to December) and forecasts for continuing hot and drier-than-average conditions through mid-2016, suggest a scenario of extensive, regional-scale crop failure.

South Africa has issued a preliminary forecast of maize production for the coming harvest of 7.4 million tonnes, a drop of 25 percent from the already poor production levels of last season and 36 percent below the previous five-year average.

These conditions follow a 2014-2015 agricultural season that was similarly characterized by hot, dry conditions and a 23percent drop in regional cereal production.

This drop has increased the region's vulnerability due to the depletion of regional cereal stocks and higher-than-average food prices, and has substantially increased food insecurity. Even before the current crisis began, the number of food-insecure people in the region (not including South Africa), already stood at 14 million (2), according to the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

As of early February, FEWS NET estimates that, of this total, at least 2.5 million people are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and require urgent humanitarian assistance to protect livelihoods and household food consumption.

The numbers of the food insecure population are now increasing due to the current drought and high market prices (maize prices in South Africa and Malawi were at record highs in January).

Drought emergencies have been declared in most of South Africa's provinces as well as in Zimbabwe and Lesotho. Water authorities in Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa and Namibia are limiting water usage because of low water levels. Power outages have been occurring in Zambia and Zimbabwe as water levels at the Kariba Dam have become much lower than usual.

While it is too early to provide detailed estimates of the population likely to be food-insecure in 2016-2017, it is expected that the population in need of emergency food assistance and livelihood recovery support will increase significantly. Additional assistance will be required to help food-insecure households manage an extended 2016 lean season.

In the short term, the following actions are required:

continued close monitoring of the season to inform decision-making on programming and targeting;

immediate additional assistance to help currently food-insecure households;

updating of contingency plans, intensification of advocacy and resource mobilization to address the impact of an extended post-2016 harvest lean season;

increased awareness-raising of the need for a regional approach to address the effects of drought that are becoming more frequent and intense.

Over the coming year, humanitarian partners should prepare themselves for food insecurity levels and food insecure population numbers in southern Africa to be at their highest levels since the 2002-2003 food crisis.

This statement reflects a shared view of current conditions and the likely evolution of the situation in southern Africa by major actors involved in global food security monitoring and early warning. Further details can be obtained from the following reports:

this WFP report for official SADC numbers at the start of the season. Not including South Africa, the 14 million includes 7.6 million in currently drought affected countries, plus 6.6 million in DRC (where conflict, not drought is the driver of food insecurity) and 0.4 million in Tanzania, which is not drought-affected during El Niño. South Africa is excluded as its figures are not directly comparable.]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/382932/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/382932/icode/Wed, 10 Feb 2016 23:00:00 GMTFeeding the world's cities: a critical challenge for sustainable development FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo spoke at the opening of an FAO-organized meeting at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) taking place during this year's International Green Week in Berlin, from 15-24 January 2016.

15 January 2015, Berlin - Providing healthy diets for the world's growing urban population requires forging stronger links between rural producers and urban markets and building food systems that are more socially inclusive, environmentally sound and less wasteful, FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo, said today.

Semedo warned of the difficulties that many cities face in ensuring regular and stable access to adequate food for all. "This will worsen as an increasing proportion of the hungry will be living in urban areas," she said.

More than 50 percent of the world's population currently lives in urban areas and this is expected to rise to 70 percent by 2050, particularly in developing countries.

Increasing effects of climate change, including storms, floods and other extreme weather events, pose an added threat to how people in cities, especially the poor, access food.

Re-shaping food systems and making them more sustainable

To address these needs, food systems - from production, distribution and consumption - must be made more sustainable, according to FAO. This includes guaranteeing access and active involvement of all stakeholders, farmers and smallholders, along the whole supply and value chain. Crucial to this is drastically reducing food losses and waste, which are especially high in urban areas. This includes measures such as redistributing edible unused food and using waste as compost or to generate energy.

Semedo underscored the role played by rural populations in contributing to the food security of those who live in cities.

"Feeding cities creates considerable opportunities for sustainable development - both in cities and in rural areas - especially when family farmers and small-holders are linked to these markets," Semedo said.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture is also an important component of food systems with innovative techniques such as hydroponics - growing plants in water solutions containing minerals - and home and vertical gardens providing prospects to create jobs, offer nutritional diversity and contribute to healthy eating in towns and cities.

Integrating food into urban planning "essential"

Food security and nutrition "often remains overlooked" in urban planning and development but this must be changed if the international community is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which entails making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, Semedo said.

To this end, "integrating food into urban planning is essential," she stressed, noting that while city and metropolitan governments are increasingly taking part in local, national and global dialogues on food systems, "more needs to be done".

This should be an inclusive process, bringing together government, the private sector and civil society, in ways that reflect the social, economic and ecological complexities of food systems, Semedo added.

Global networks of cities and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact

There is a need for cities to share their experiences through global networks, as a way to spur a wider adoption of good practices. As an example of this, Semedo cited the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact approved by over 100 municipalities from around the world at the Milan Expo in October 2015. A world mayors' meeting is to be hosted by FAO in 2016 to support work related to the Pact.

Semedo is scheduled to address an agriculture ministers summit on Saturday 16 January 2016, which is also part of the GFFA.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/380000/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/380000/icode/Thu, 14 Jan 2016 23:00:00 GMTEl Niño lowers early production outlook in Southern Africa Crop and livestock production prospects in Southern Africa have been weakened by the El Niño weather phenomenon that has depressed rains and increased temperatures. A reduced agricultural output would build on last year’s disappointing season, which has already contributed to higher food prices and “could acutely impact the food security situation in 2016,” according to a special GIEWS alert.

22 December 2015, Rome - Crop and livestock production prospects in Southern Africa have been weakened by the El Niño weather phenomenon that has lowered rains and increased temperatures.

A reduced agricultural output would follow on last year's disappointing season, which has already contributed to higher food prices and "could acutely impact the food security situation in 2016," according to a special alert released on Tuesday by FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS).

The season for planting maize in Southern Africa has already experienced delays, while crops sown stand to be negatively affected due to inadequate rains and higher temperatures. "It's the sixth week of the cropping season now and there's not enough moisture in the soil," said Shukri Ahmed, FAO Deputy Strategic Programme Leader - Resilience.

The region's small-scale farmers are almost entirely dependent on rain, rendering their output highly susceptible to its variations. While El Niño's impact depends highly on location and season - the impact of El Niño on agricultural production appears more muted in northern areas - past strong episodes have been associated with reduced production in several countries, including South Africa, which is the largest cereal producer in the sub-region and typically exports maize to neighbouring countries.

FAO had already warned in March that the current El Niño would be strong -- and it now appears to be the strongest episode in 18 years. It will peak at the start of 2016, before the usual harvest time for farmers in Southern Africa.

"Weather forecasts indicate a higher probability of a continuation of below-normal rains between December and March across most countries," according to the GIEWS alert.

South Africa has already declared drought status for five provinces, its main cereal producing regions, while Lesotho has issued a drought mitigation plan and Swaziland has implemented water restrictions as reservoir levels have become low.

Increasing prices intensify risks

The likelihood of another poor season is troublesome as it comes on the heels of a poor one that has already depleted inventories, tightened supplies and pushed up local prices. The Subregional maize production fell by 27 percent in 2015, triggering a sharp increase in the number of people already vulnerable to food insecurity in the region.

"Maize prices in southern Africa are really getting high," said Shukri Ahmed. "Moreover, currencies in the sub-region are very weak, which together can exacerbate the situation."

While the drought affects many crops, including legumes, which are an important contributor to local nutrition, maize is grown by 80 percent of the subsistence farmers in the subregion.

Wholesale maize prices are up 50 percent from a year earlier in South Africa, while retail maize prices have doubled in Malawi and Mozambique. As households are already reeling from the previous poor harvest devote more income to basic needs, their access to critical farm inputs - such as seeds and fertilizers - is jeopardized.

Beyond southern Africa, GIEWS analysis of El Niño-related conditions also points to agricultural stress in northern Australia, parts of Indonesia and a wide swathe of Central America and Brazil.

El Niño's effect is also being felt elsewhere in Africa, with FAO field officers in Ethiopia reporting serious crop and livestock losses among farmers and pastoralists.

This month, FAO also issued a warning that there is an increased risk of Rift Valley fever (RVF), especially in East Africa. Outbreaks of RVF, which primarily affects sheep, goats, cattle, camels, buffaloes and antelopes, but can also be lethal to humans, are closely associated with periods of El Niño-linked heavy rainfall, which bolster habitats for the mosquitoes that carry the disease. The options to counter the possible human and animal disease threats include the use of insect repellents in households and vaccination of animals in target areas, but quality vaccines are needed as well as teams to be sent to the field immediately.

Action Plan for Southern Africa

To reduce the adverse effects of El Niño, FAO has already triggered several interventions across southern Africa that are also building on existing programmes following last season's reduced production.

"FAO is working on a twin track approach with governments and other partners across the subregion to address both the immediate and longer term needs. Appropriate crop and livestock interventions intended to minimize the effects are already being up-scaled," said David Phiri, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa.

The focus of immediate interventions includes supporting farmers by providing drought tolerant crops, seeds and livestock feed and carrying out vaccinations. The Organization is also supporting longer-term resilience-building approaches among vulnerable groups, including the rehabilitation of irrigation systems, improving farmers' access to rural finance, and supporting wider use of climate-smart agricultural technologies. Several countries have already produced national plans that address the impact of El Niño on agriculture.

Innovative interventions implemented in southern Africa in recent years have been particularly successful. Many of these good practices, including the rapid expansion of market-based interventions, non-conditional cash transfers and vouchers, adoption of climate smart technologies for both livestock and crop production systems, have been used to good effect in other crises.

"We are grateful for the contributions made by the development partners so far, but there are still significant funding shortfalls. We will need to rapidly adopt and scale up the innovations that have proved successful in the past," said Phiri.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/369894/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/369894/icode/Tue, 22 Dec 2015 09:00:00 GMTSustainable farming systems in Bangladesh and Japan receive global recognition Four new sites have been designated today by FAO as “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems” for innovation, sustainability and adaptability.

They include Bangladesh's floating gardens, a unique hydroponics production system constructed with natural grasses and plants, which have been developed in flood areas; and a trio of sites in Japan: the sustainable river fisheries utilizing Sato-kawa system in Gifu, theMinabe-Tanabe Ume approach to growing apricots on nutrient-poor slopes in Wakayama; and the Takachihogo-Shiibayama mountainous agriculture and forestry system in Miyazaki which allows agricultural and forestry production in a steep mountainous area.

The sites were officially recognized during a joint meeting of the GIAHS Steering and Scientific Committee at FAO headquarters in Rome.

These new designations bring the number of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) systems to a total of 36 sites located in 15 countries in Africa, Latin America, Near East and Asia.

"In the context of today's environmental and economic challenges and climate change, small-scale and family farmers, and especially traditional agriculture, can offer real solutions for food security, the conservation of natural resources and sustainable rural development, if adequate policies and investment are directed to them", said FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo.

The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) which was launched by FAO in 2002 during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, has been recently endorsed by member countries, during the 39th Session of the FAO Conference, as an FAO Corporate Programme.

About the new GIAHS sites

The new GIAHS sites include three in Japan and one in Bangladesh:

Japan - Ayu of the Nagara River System

The Nagara River is one of the cleanest rivers in Japan that provides a number of ecosystem services. Various components of the system such as river, forests and farmlands are closely linked to each other. The sustainable inland fisheries of a specific type of fish (Ayu) benefit from clean waters of the Nagara River which are maintained through upstream forest management. Local communities have lived within this linked ecosystems and have developed their livelihoods and cultural practices.

Japan - Minabe-Tanabe Ume System

Minabe-Tanabe Ume System allows for the production of high-quality Ume (Japanese apricots) and various kinds of fruits on nutrient-poor slopes. Local communities have created a thriving Ume fruit production environment by maintaining upper coppice forests for landslide prevention and maintenance of water, and Japanese honeybee for pollinators. By permitting the production of a diverse range of products, the system ensures stable livelihoods and makes communities more resilient to disasters.

This site is located in a steep mountainous area where flat land is extremely scarce. In this severe environment, local people have established a distinctive and sustainable system of agriculture and forestry which balances timber production with diverse farming activities -- such as terraced rice growing, shiitake mushroom cultivation, beef cattle raising, or tea cultivation. The forest is maintained as a "mosaic" of conifers and broadleaf trees using traditional practices.

Bangladesh - Floating garden Agricultural Practices

Farmers in some parts of Bangladesh where flood waters can remain for a prolonged period of time have developed a unique hydroponics system in which plants can be grown on the water on floating organic bed of water hyacinth, algae and other plant residues. This environmentally friendly traditional cultivation technique utilizes the natural resources of wetlands to grow vegetables and other crops almost all year round providing numerous social, economic, agricultural and ecological benefits to the local population.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/358447/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/358447/icode/Mon, 14 Dec 2015 23:00:00 GMTBreakthrough climate agreement recognizes food security as a priority FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva has welcomed the successful conclusion of the Paris Climate Summit saying that “for the first time ever, food security features in a global climate change accord.” The Paris Agreement recognizes “the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the impacts of climate change”.

12 December 2015, Rome - FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva has welcomed the approval of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, saying that "for the first time ever, food security features in a global climate change accord."

The Agreement recognizes "the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the impacts of climate change".

It underlines the need to "increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience (...) in a manner that does not threaten food production."

"This is a game changer for the 800 million people still suffering from chronic hunger and the 80 percent of the world's poor who live in rural areas and earn their income − and feed their families − via the agriculture sectors. By including food security, the international community fully acknowledges that urgent attention is needed to preserve the well-being and future of those who are on the front line of climate change threats," Graziano da Silva said.

"FAO commends this milestone decision to move forward on climate change action, which comes on the heels of the new Sustainable Development Agenda and its pledge to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2030. Central to our goal of achieving Zero Hunger, FAO strongly advocates for commitments to protect and enhance food security in a changing climate," he added. "Our message is simple: we will not reach Sustainable Development Goal 2 on ending hunger − and by extension the entire 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda − without ambitious action on climate change."

Fighting hunger and climate must go "hand-in-hand," he said. "FAO is highly encouraged by the fact that agriculture, forestry, fisheries and land use factor prominently in most of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) − the actions countries intend to take under the new Paris Agreement − and notes that this underscores the need for targeted investment in sustainable agriculture.

"In the contexts of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, parties shall prepare, communicate and maintain successive INDCs that they intend to achieve. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) may prepare and communicate strategies, plans and actions for low greenhouse emissions development reflecting their special circumstances. Each party to the Agreement shall communicate a nationally determined contribution every five years.

"In this respect, FAO lauds the commitments made throughout the COP21 negotiations to support scaled up climate action in developing countries. Countries pledged additional resources to the Least Developed Countries Fund, Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund, among others.

"These resources are vital to supporting developing countries to implement their INDC contributions."

FAO at COP22

Building on the outcomes of the Paris Agreement, FAO is now working closely with the Government of Morocco to prepare for COP22 in Marrakesh in November 2016, with an eye to anchoring food security and agriculture even more prominently in global action plans and to ensure financial support for adaptation.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/358257/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/358257/icode/Sat, 12 Dec 2015 17:00:00 GMTStudy reveals disturbing hunger trends in world's highland areas While global hunger figures are decreasing, the number of food insecure people in mountain areas rose 30 percent between 2000 and 2012, according to a new study, released today by FAO and the Mountain Partnership on International Mountain Day.

11 December 2015, Rome - While global hunger figures are decreasing, the number of food insecure people in mountain areas rose 30 percent between 2000 and 2012, according to a new study, released today by FAO and the Mountain Partnership on International Mountain Day.

Mapping the vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity found that the number of food insecure people living in mountain regions in developing countries grew to nearly 329 million in 2012, up from 253 million in 2000, even though the overall population of the world's mountain peoples increased only by 16 percent during that same time.

That means that one in three mountain people, both urban and rural, in developing countries faced hunger and malnutrition, compared to one out of nine people globally.

And focusing on only rural mountain populations, which depend on natural resources such as land, water and forests for their livelihoods, the numbers get even starker: almost half of them are food insecure.

Mountain zones cover 22 percent of the earth's land surface and are home to 13 percent of the human population.

"The living conditions of mountain peoples have deteriorated and their vulnerability to hunger has increased. Harsh climates and the difficult, often inaccessible terrain, combined with political and social marginality certainly contribute to making mountain peoples particularly vulnerable to food shortages", said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva in the foreword to the study. "As we now endeavour to reach the Sustainable Development Goals, the international community and resource partners are hereby called upon to invest in mountain areas and reinforce the efforts of FAO and the Mountain Partnership."

Highlands threatened by climate change

The growing profile of hunger is not the only challenge that mountain-dwellers face.

Ninety percent of them live in developing countries where most are dependent on subsistence agriculture, working in fragile ecosystems that are easily affected by climate change.

"What that means for mountain peoples is an unfortunate injustice: communities with one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world are among the first to bear the brunt of climate change", said Mountain Partnership Secretariat Coordinator Thomas Hofer.

"For example, higher temperatures allow pests and diseases to make their way further up the mountain slopes. Crop failure and loss of livestock are an increasing reality. In addition, greater incidences of storms, avalanches, landslides and floods from glacial lakes are taking lives and destroying infrastructures, disrupting mountain communities' access to roads, schools, markets and health services", he added.

Regional differences

Almost 59 million mountain people in Africa were identified as vulnerable to food insecurity in 2000, a number that increased 46 percent to 86 million by 2012 - in part a reflection of increases in the region's overall population of mountain dwellers. The majority of vulnerable people on the continent are located in eastern Africa, which accounts for 65 percent of the total number of food insecure mountain people in Africa.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the total number of vulnerable mountain people increased by 22 percent from more than 39 million in 2000 to nearly 48 million in 2012. However, the proportion of vulnerable mountain populations remained quite stable, passing from 30 to 31 percent in 12 years.

Mountain populations of Asia are particularly prone to vulnerability. Results of the study show that more than 192 million people were considered vulnerable to food insecurity in 2012, an increase of over 40 million people, or 26 percent, from 2000. The study also found the proportion of vulnerable people among mountain populations grew from 35 to 41 percent between 2000 and 2012.

Political support

According to FAO, strong political commitment and effective actions are necessary to invert the hunger trend and address the roots of food insecurity in mountains, filling the hunger gap between lowland and upland people.

For mountain peoples, the key factor is inclusive growth, meaning growth that promotes access for everyone to food, assets and resources, particularly for poor people and women so they can develop their potential.

In mountain areas, where family farming and smallholder agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry are the prevailing farming systems, it is key to create a supportive, enabling institutional and political environment in which mountain people can have access to services such as training, information, credit and healthcare, and adequate infrastructure.

Investments and technical support are also needed to diversify and boost mountain production systems through, for example, integrating indigenous knowledge and traditions with modern techniques.